Are Treadmills a Worthy Exercise?
“Run when you can. Walk if you have to. Crawl if you must. Just never give up.”
— Dean Karnazes.
Running is the world’s oldest sport. It’s what our bodies have done for more than 2.5 million years. To run is to be human, and it’s what we’ve developed our bodies to do best. Sadly, we don’t live in the Savannah anymore. But the treadmill lets you relieve some of that feeling again.
It doesn’t matter if you’re stuck at behind walls and have nowhere to go. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the free space to get out and run. The treadmill allows you to run just about anywhere.
Why Jump on a Treadmill?
Running adds years to your life.
A study conducted in 2018 found that people that run have a 30% lower risk of dying than people that didn’t run. The risk of dying from all-cause mortality was reduced as long as the person ran at least once a week. Treadmills are the ideal fitness tool to have, and are safe to use for just about anyone. If you want any of the following..
- Greater cardiovascular fitness
- Better body composition
- Lower cholesterol levels
- Better insulin sensitivity
- Stronger bones
- Better hormone regulation
Then run.
Running is perfect for your sleep.
The American Journal of Lifestyle Exercise found that the more you exercised, the better your quality of sleep became. The better you sleep, the longer you live, the smarter you become, the faster you move, and the better you look.
Can’t sleep? Run. But running out in the neighborhood at night might be dangerous. Running on the treadmill at night allows you to run in an environment that’s safer than curbs and sidewalks. It lets you tire your body after a hard day at work to give you amazing sleep.
Running helps you lose weight and keep it off.
A treadmill allows you to choose the level of incline you run on. It gives you a safe and continuous exercise that you can do with your body-weight for hours on end. Running burns, on average, 100 calories per mile.(For a more accurate measurement, multiple 0.75 with your body-weight in pounds to see how many calories per hour you burn)
The simplicity makes it robust, unlike a complex exercise workout that can have multiple points of failure. If you’re overweight, then running on the ground might hurt your knees and joints. But treadmills have specialized cushions that are designed to protect your joints from impact.
Running is free therapy.
Not only will you get the famous runner’s high, you’ll be able to battle depression and addiction with a simple jog on the treadmill. It reduces stress, anxiety, and helps you to stop ruminating and catastrophizing, some of the worst things you’re likely to do when you’re unhappy.
Don’t believe me? Just switch on the television and run on the treadmill for an hour and tell me how you feel. The mental benefits from running are natural and free, and even last longer than the benefits you get with an anti-depressant pill.
