Holding onto the treadmill????

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  • katie133
    katie133 Posts: 210 Member
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    I've always wondered - my trainer told me to hold on, go as fast as I possably could and have at max incline. I have done this for 60 minutes (SORE ARMS!!!!!!!!!) and it said i had burnt 1000 calories!! I found it hard to believe because I sometimes run at a low incline (NOT holding on) and seem to be working a lot harder - puffing, sweating etc - yet don't burn as many calories. Thanks for comments everyone - interesting:-)

    I totally agree...... I dont think the calories burned are correct on the machine... are you using a HRM (i dont have one)
    I feel like i worked so much harder, not holding on at a lower intensity... I could go for hours while holding on!
  • katie133
    katie133 Posts: 210 Member
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    Meh, I hold on because of the incline and me being super clumsy. Ever since I started using the treadmills, the trainer would nearly max the incline and leave me be.. annnnd since I'd rather not risk having the treadmill floor pattern embedded into my face as a personal reminder, I hold on for dear life.

    There are times when I lower the incline and double the speed though. That's when I stop holding.

    You always make me laugh- you really have such a gift with words. lol personal reminder. whew haha

    Haha thanks. I haven't fallen.. yet. *Knocks on trees* .. but I injure myself enough in the gym as is. Be it constantly beaming myself in the head with the tricep extension bars, of banging my legs and hips on the sides of machines.. So yeah.. falling seems like the mother of all embarrassing situations. You can't just laugh and walk that off...and you can never leave any witnesses.


    ^^^ LOL too funny
  • denise_earheart
    denise_earheart Posts: 354
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    I find myself tripping over on my treadmill sometimes I don't get it so sometimes I will hold on for a second....
  • BIGBRI69
    BIGBRI69 Posts: 1
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    Making blanket statements about why other people do things, without knowing their situation is ignorant.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    I held on one time because I didn't wear my HRM and had set the machine to a program that wanted my heart rate in a certain zone. I was new to this machine and didn't know this would happen so every stinking time I took my hands off the HR part of the machine it would yell at me. Lesson learned, don't use that program unless I'm wearing my wireless HRM because the machine will pick it up and I don't have to hold on. It is much easier when holding on but that means it is not working me as hard.
  • Kenazwa
    Kenazwa Posts: 278 Member
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    I try not to but have to hold on sometimes, otherwise I sort of wander sideways and lose my balance.
  • outofworkpediatrician
    outofworkpediatrician Posts: 43 Member
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    holding onto the hand rail reduces the intensity of the workout. but i hold on for the entire time as i have fallen twice on the treadmill when not holding on. i get more wobbly and struggle to maintain balance once i am tired. i do not hold on to cheat myself into thinking i am working harder than i am doing, but because its not worth breaking the bones. instead in increase the incline, and walk faster and longer to compensate for the lower calorie burn. whatever any trainer says, if you feel like you are struggling to maintain balance, you need to hold on. but if lowering the incline helps you to maintain the balance, then you can burn the same on more calories by walking without holding on at lower incline.
  • maj1958
    maj1958 Posts: 16 Member
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    You get way more bang for your buck not holding on. You engage your entire core and many more leg muscles. If balance is an issue, try some balance exercises off the treadmill to get more comfortable. Balance work is underrated in the gym. I work some balance int every workout and I have to say I haven't fallen on ice and snow once this winter and there have been many close calls!! That is more important to me than to be able to run on some ridiculous incline while hanging on for dear life :)
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I actually hold on because the treadmill needs my heart rate. If I let go for even a few seconds, the machine pauses my work out or doesn't count the calories I'm burning when I'm not holding on. The machines at my gym seem pretty new and they adjust themselves until I reach my target HR, so sometimes I'm walking with an inclination of 9.8 at 3.0 or 3.5 mph and sometimes goes really low 2.2. Then, the treadmill displays the correct amount of calories I burn depending on the HR, time speed, etc. I think sometimes the people you see holding up may be doing that because of their specific exercise program, not because they're cheaters who are fooling themselves. Not all at least, that's the danger of generalizing.

    Don't use a heart rate interactive program. They aren't that good anyway and then you won't have the problem.

    OR

    if you insist on doing a HR program, get a polar chest strap. Almost every commercial treadmill has a built in polar receiver so your heart rate can be controlled from the chest strap and you don't have to hold on.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I actually hold on because the treadmill needs my heart rate. If I let go for even a few seconds, the machine pauses my work out or doesn't count the calories I'm burning when I'm not holding on. The machines at my gym seem pretty new and they adjust themselves until I reach my target HR, so sometimes I'm walking with an inclination of 9.8 at 3.0 or 3.5 mph and sometimes goes really low 2.2. Then, the treadmill displays the correct amount of calories I burn depending on the HR, time speed, etc. I think sometimes the people you see holding up may be doing that because of their specific exercise program, not because they're cheaters who are fooling themselves. Not all at least, that's the danger of generalizing.

    you should get a HRM. It is far more accurate than the readings you get on the machines that are not taylored for your individual body make up.

    If you don't hold on, and you input your weight, the treadmill numbers for walking (and incline walking) will likely be more accurate than any HRM.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I only hold at 20 incline, walking at 4.0 to watch my heartrate spike a few minutes then lower and slow down.

    As long as you aren't counting the calories, you can do whatever you think works. The downside of what you are doing is that you are setting a workload that is well beyond you physical capacity, and then offsetting the workload by holding on to lower it to something you can tolerate. It seems to me it would be a lot more straightforward to set the workload at the proper level in the first place. If wanted to walk at a really steep incline, you could leave it at 20%, and lower the speed to something you can do unassisted --say 3 mph, or even lower. Your heart rate will still increase to the same level and you would get balance and muscle conditioning at the same time. Win-win!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,701 Member
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    Those of you who stated that you hold on because you feel you need to are demonstrating exactly why you shouldn't hold on. Your muscles are out of balance, due in large part to cheating in the first place. The more unbalanced you become, the more you will need to cheat. You're going to limit your progress, reduce the effectiveness of the exercise, and increase your risk of injury.
    THIS. It's like lifting too much weight and sacrificing form for ego.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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