Is anyone terrified of falling off the treadmill??

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  • stargazer008
    stargazer008 Posts: 531
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    I fell off the treadmill yesterday:embarassed:
  • sslichenmyer
    sslichenmyer Posts: 19 Member
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    i was running on the treadmill and closed my eyes i was thrown of into a concrete wall i was ok and not hurt BUT ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU WEAR THE EMERGENCY SAFETY STOP!! im serious!

    No chance am I putting that thing on....

    if i had been wearing it i wouldnt have been thrown off lol i dont go on the treadmill because it takes me 30 mins to walk a mile on there vs 15 walking the track
  • sosoleeroy
    sosoleeroy Posts: 7 Member
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    I almost fell last night when I was stepping off. My foot landed on the dog bowl. It was a real eye-opener. From now on I will make sure my surroundings are clear of clutter. An injury might cause my scales to indicate weight gain quickly. I depend on my treadmill for most of my exercise. I wasn't too embarrassed since I was on my back porch and not in a big crowd. Don't let anything get in the way of your goals.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    i was running on the treadmill and closed my eyes i was thrown of into a concrete wall i was ok and not hurt BUT ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU WEAR THE EMERGENCY SAFETY STOP!! im serious!

    No chance am I putting that thing on....

    if i had been wearing it i wouldnt have been thrown off lol i dont go on the treadmill because it takes me 30 mins to walk a mile on there vs 15 walking the track

    Sounds like your treadmill is messed up.
  • dandandee
    dandandee Posts: 301 Member
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    I never walk straight. I tend to veer to the right, then to the left.... its kinda funny. When I am walking next to someone, I am always bumping into them.

    Lol! me too! I'm not afraid of falling off like in the back, I'm more scared of stepping to far to the side and falling that way with one leg on the moving treadmill and one foot on the unmoving rails! :laugh:
    Only time I would be afraid to fall off in the back would be if I were to run while having the incline jacked up all the way. that's asking for it though.... :laugh:
  • gsmithnp
    gsmithnp Posts: 139 Member
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    I don't know if this counts, since it involved an elliptical and not a treadmill, and the workout was done and machine stopped, but my (6 ft tall, 280 lb) brother in law lost his balance while getting off our elliptical and tried to catch himself on a nearby bookshelf.

    He was unsuccessful.

    He had some scrapes and bruises (and wounded pride). The bookshelf died.
  • lorierin22
    lorierin22 Posts: 432 Member
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    This made me LOL. Not at you...at myself! :laugh:

    I was totally afraid of falling off the back of the treadmill the first time I got on one. I am still a little afraid of falling off the side of it (I'm not so graceful and do much better outside where I have as much room as needed!). I also still get a little scared I will fall off the back whenever I crank up my speed for intervals. I don't like the treadmill at all and only use if absolutely necessary.
  • jakedner
    jakedner Posts: 186 Member
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    I'm not afraid of falling off, but the way I have mine situated in my fitness room, one slip up and I'll slam into the basement wall. It keeps me moving at the same pace as the belt.

    Probably not the safest set up, especially if I thought I might fall, but my kids are notorious for sneaking up on people and scaring them so I wanted to face the door of the fitness room while I was on the treadmill. If they came in while I was working out with my headphones on, I wouldn't know it until I was on the floor, after falling off the treadmill.

    I do know a few people who have fallen off. Mostly no injuries besides their pride.

    Much success to you!
  • gina145
    gina145 Posts: 148 Member
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    Okay, I really did fall off! Year ago I was at Sears trying a TM and did not put the safety clip on. I was running got fatigued and was not close enough to reach the level to turn down...lost my footing and down I went! Tore my pants open...it was so embarrassing. The sales clerk and hubby had their backs against me looking at another TM.... I told my husband they will probably use a video of me falling to teach employees to make sure the safety clip is attached to the customer. Oh well...be safe!
  • jakedner
    jakedner Posts: 186 Member
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    Yep! I'm a clutz. Sometimes I get tired and run more towards the back (if that makes sense). I know when I've gone back too far because I hear a squeak from my sneakers rubbing where the tread goes down. Then I run like heck back up to the rails. :)

    This happens to me! I make a frenzied dash to move faster than the belt so I don't get slammed into the wall behind me.
  • roxierachael
    roxierachael Posts: 81 Member
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    It's like riding a bike, you learn the balance required pretty quickly. I have inner ear problems, so I always veer left when I hit the treadmill.

    On a sadder note, today, I was reaching forward to fidget with the closed captioning on the gym TV and accidentally pushed the emergency stop button.... with my belly fat.

    sm4qyq.gif
  • terri0527
    terri0527 Posts: 678 Member
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    :laugh: I almost have but caught myself.....you can always use the safety cord thingy..I do tend to veer to the side a little when I walk, running is fine. Don't do it when I walk on pavement so no idea why it happens on the treadmill..:huh:
  • RobinV_Seattle
    RobinV_Seattle Posts: 191 Member
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    Just note that it can greatly cut down your calorie burn if you hold the rails. That's the reason they yell at them on Biggest Loser to not touch the machine.


    how do you know that is the reason?? I have NEVER Heard this before....

    From http://walking.about.com/od/treadmillworkouts/a/treadmillhold.htm
    Holding onto the treadmill is always wrong, regardless of your size, age, experience, weight or goals (save for momentary heart-rate check or brief turn to look behind yourself).

    Problems Created by Holding Onto the Treadmill

    •Turns walking into "make-believe walking" and running into "fake-running"
    •Ruins posture and body alignment
    •Reduces calories burned
    •Reduces effects of incline
    •Doesn't build balance
    •Holding Onto the Treadmill is Make-Believe Walking and Fake-Running


    Holding on when on the treadmill never simulates actual walking or running. Some people press their palms down against the side rails, lifting their bodies partially off the tread, creating a body weight that’s lighter than what they must deal with once off the machine. While legs wistfully go through mere motions, shoulders sway to and fro in an unnatural pattern that can strain them. Some men take heavy or exaggerated steps, trunk leaning forward, arms bent while hands are clamped to the rails, body bobbing up and down like a buoy in the ocean.

    Many people also grip the front bar, yanking their body forward with each step. Any kind of holding on eliminates walking and running weight-bearing benefits. Your legs get a free ride.

    Holding on with one hand is still cheating, creating unequal stresses to the body — even if you alternate hands. Even "resting" your hands on the machine compromises efficacy. Besides, the moment the speed or incline is increased, those resting hands will tighten. I’ve witnessed people don leather gloves for increased grip traction!

    Holding Onto the Treadmill Burns Fewer Calories
    When the machine's settings are high, the calorie display shows a very big number. But this reading is triggered by the program settings only! If you put your 8-pound puppy on the tread, or even let the tread move without anything on it, it would still show the same impressive calorie total. Because holding on eliminates substantial workload from the legs and even the shoulder girdle, the actual calories burned is far lower than the bright red number flashing on the console.

    Walking or running hands-off burns 20 to 25 percent more calories for the same length of time. Don't think that you’re smoldering up heapfuls of calories by tugging with your arms and hands during a fast pace on a high incline. The leg and gluteal muscles are the largest muscles in the body. Large muscles burn the most calories. Divert work from the legs? You get minimal calorie burn.

    Cheats the Lower Back Muscles: The lower-back muscles are called the erector spinae: They keep you erect while walking or jogging in daily life, and stabilize the spine. Holding onto the treadmill cheats the lower back out of doing work, weakening these important core muscles.

    Holding Onto the Treadmill Ruins Posture
    Tall people who hold on are especially at risk for developing forward, slumped posture. View a tall person from the side who’s clinging to the machine. Note the disrupted posture, which may include a butt that’s sticking out. No back specialist alive would endorse this, even if the walker is 80 years old. Regardless of your height, holding on produces an unnatural, inefficient gait.
    Spinal Alignment: Hanging on skewers spinal alignment, and unteaches your body how to walk or run efficiently. Your leg cannot extend fully prior to the foot’s contact with the tread. A shorter step length results. Taking longer strides to compensate for this (which the walker will invariably do) will cause ballistic action in the hips, creating risk for repetitive stress injuries. Gripping at fast speeds raises blood pressure.

    Risk of Repetitive Strain Injuries: If you luck out and never experience RSIs, then don’t get smug: Every minute you hold on is a minute wasted. I’ve instructed men and women (including martial artists and bodybuilders)—who were hardcore grippers at fast speeds and high inclines—to walk hands off at 15 percent incline, but at only 3 mph. Within two minutes, they were panting and had to lower the incline!


    The incline
    Think about your last hike on an uphill trail. What were you holding onto? It makes no sense to hold onto the treadmill while using a grade.
    When you grab onto the front bar or console, your body tilts back, making it perpendicular to the inclined tread surface. This is the same angle relationship as when walking on a level course! In other words, if the tread incline is at 15 percent, and you’re gripping the machine, your entire body is angled back—at 15 percent! You’ve just cancelled out the effect of the grade.

    Picture somebody hiking up a hill. His legs bend quite a bit at the hips and knees; his body is vertical while it's moving up a slope. Now, observe a person gripping an inclined treadmill. His body is leaning back like a water skier's, and his legs are as straight as they would be at zero incline. And guess what! Leaning forward (while still holding on) will not correct this flaw; you'd be pulling yourself forward with your arms, cheating your legs out of the climb. Placing your hands on the side rails will subtract some of your weight off the tread, so forget that. You always lose when you hold on.

    Find an outdoor trail that inclines like your treadmill routine. Walk it at your treadmill pace (which will seem faster outdoors). See how long you can last. That lean person you see striding for 30 minutes at 4 mph at 12 percent grade, hands glued to the machine, would be breathless on a 12 percent outdoor trail within two minutes at the same speed.

    Balance
    The real world is full of uneven surfaces that you must walk on. Sensors in your feet and legs relay nerve impulses up to your brain, where they are interpreted: smooth asphalt, uneven concrete, lumpy grass, a bed of rocks, puddles to step around, etc. Your brain constantly sends signals down your spinal cord to help you navigate just where your body is in space, thus preventing you from falling.
    Holding onto the treadmill interferes with these signals, thus downgrading your coordination. If you hold on, even lightly, you take valuable work away from your neuro-muskuloskeletal system. In short, holding on outright de-activates your body’s balancing mechanism.

    Let Go!
    Ask yourself: How will holding on make me more efficient in the real world, where there’s nothing to hold onto?
  • Vanillacoffee54
    Vanillacoffee54 Posts: 12 Member
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    ABSOLUTELY! This post is a comfort, I thought I was the only one who would think about that! I even thought about getting velcro shoes so there wouldn't be shoelaces to trip me up. And I always hold on!!! It's healthier than falling off and breaking my leg!
  • Arkie_Ali
    Arkie_Ali Posts: 106 Member
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    LOL :) When I was about 12, me and my friend were playing on my mother's treadmill and I ended up falling off. All it did was scrape my knee. But.. not gonna lie I was pretty leery of treadmills for quite some time.
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,049 Member
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    Just note that it can greatly cut down your calorie burn if you hold the rails. That's the reason they yell at them on Biggest Loser to not touch the machine.


    SO TRUE!! for the love of humanity please stop holding on the the rails and or display when you are on the treadmill you are only CHEATING YOURSELF!!!!!!!:bigsmile:
    Whats the point pof inclining that bad boy if you are only gonna latch on to the display for dear life!?!?!?!?!?!?

    Please go to the Elliptical!!!

    Oh and ALL YOU FINE honnnieeezzzz at the gym feel free to run next to BEERRUNNER!!!:devil:
  • rumplesnat
    rumplesnat Posts: 372
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    LMAO, I almost fell off today while running. I turned around to see how much room I had left behind me because I had moved back a bit and just about wiped out. WINNER!!!
  • joliefrijole
    joliefrijole Posts: 19
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    I'm always paranoid that I'm gonna fall off the treadmill. I think it's because I am a TBI survivor and I'm VERY conscious of activities that might entail accidents involving my head.

    On the other hand, when I get off, I feel like the world is still moving forward (or is it backward?) whereas I'm not-anyone else get that type of feeling?
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,049 Member
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    I'm always paranoid that I'm gonna fall off the treadmill. I think it's because I am a TBI survivor and I'm VERY conscious of activities that might entail accidents involving my head.

    On the other hand, when I get off, I feel like the world is still moving forward (or is it backward?) whereas I'm not-anyone else get that type of feeling?

    You might want to consider not using the treadmill.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Last time I fell off a treadmill, the "safety clip" attached to my shirt ripped off and cut my lip. Of course it was made of rusted metal, so I got a nice tetanus shot. I've been a little leery of them ever since. Of course, I'm one of the clumsiest people ever, and I've also walked into walls and randomly fallen over while walking (it takes talent I tell you...).

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