Dr. George L. Dixon - "Talking Fitness"

The hottest selling exercise machine in the U.S.A.? Treadmills! The splendid exercise (pardon the use of the "E" word) called walking , can be done indoors as well as outdoors. A stationary bicycle is grand, but certainly doesn't demand the balance effort required of a bicycle outdoors. The walking effort is identical, indoors or out. Some say indoors is even better, because the surface can be softer and the weather controlled, and that dog will have to have it's own tiny treadmill to run after you and bite indoors. There are problems, it does take up a lot of room. If it can be folded up it is hard and requires two men and a boy to do so. But if you are determined to size one up consider these things.

Be sure the belt is wide enough and long enough for your stride. If you plan to run on it (only 15% of people do) it needs to be longer and the motor stronger. 17"-19" wide and 52"-56" long. The bed should be like firm grass, to lessen impact. A wide rim on each side of the tread is safer for you to stand on starting up. Electronic control of speed is helpful. A safety switch with instant stop is smart. A DC motor is smoother. An electronic incline will prove to be helpful later as you demand variety.

You may find one at a garage sale for a few dollars, or at a department or fitness store for $300-4500. I think renting one for 30-60 days first would be sensible. Pay for a new one with a credit card in case you and it disagree. As usual, you get what you pay for, shake it to assure stability.

Non-motorized treadmills had a surge several years ago. They lost popularity as they were really pretty hard to "motor". The new "elliptical" stepper-treadmills are very low impact and do provide a fine workout. They may not take up as much space as an unfolded treadmill, -measure!!

Read the instructions carefully. Be certain the safety switch is engaged. Start slowly, with a 5-10 minute flat walk at 1-2 miles per hour, twice daily. Hold onto the handrails until you feel secure, let go a few fingers at a time, your goal being to walk with your arms swinging freely. Every 4-5 days increase the time by 5 minutes until 30 minutes once daily. Then increase speed by 0.2-0.4 at 4-5 day intervals. Increase inclination one notch or 2 degrees at a time the same way. Read the instructions carefully, again.

(Destination Fitness Videos for Treadmills can help with the outside feelings. Call 800-624-4952 for a free catalogue)

More help is available in "Exercise a la Carte", here, at your bookstore or call 800-624-4952.