I bought a treadmill this evening. The purchase was made online, so it’ll take a few days to get to my home. Autumn is rapidly approaching and the days are getting shorter and soon it’ll be rainy and cool. Sure, global warming might allow us to be wearing shorts up to Thanksgiving again this year, but there’s no guarantee of that.
Having a treadmill at home doe make it easier when the weather sucks but it’s also convenient. You can jump on it, get some exercise, and immediately go back to whatever you were doing. You can also watch TV or even play video games while you’re on it.
Now, if you’re like me, when you think of treadmills, you think of the giant, and bulky devices you see in fitness centers. Technology has advanced enough that they make they ultra-portable treadmills now. They’re the fraction of the size of traditional treadmills. Some of them, including the model that I purchased, can even fold in half for storage. Mine is small enough that it can fit under my bed.
Of course, these things can’t be that small and portable without some compromises. Most of the new fangled things are not fast enough for you to run on. They’re made mostly for walking or a brisk walk. I think if you had a really short gait or if you were child, these things could enable you to run on. I think mine tops out at 6 km/h, which isn’t exactly jogging speed. Who knows, I’ll have to see.
My model also doesn’t have handrails, so if for some reason I lose my balance, I’m gonna take a header to the ground. I think that’s gonna be ok because I’m just going at walking speed.
Since this is a modern day fitness device, it of course can connect to an app on your phone or tablet. It’ll track how far you’ve walked and you can set some of the options using the app. There’s also a dedicated remote you can use to control the speed.
I imagine I’ll be using this during the fall and winter months, when going outside is less pleasant. I can park it in front of my TV and watch a movie or a show, and get a brisk walk in during the evening.
Lastly, I won’t even have to pay for this thing in the end. My employer has a global fitness benefit that gets topped up every year and it’s currently at around $600, so that’ll be more than enough to pay for this thing. Treadmills qualify for reimbursement under the benefit rules.
I can’t wait to try this thing out!