Treadmills --- why do people hold on to the rails?

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Replies

  • kosuski
    kosuski Posts: 62 Member
    I hold on while I walk on the treadmill, but not while I run. No clue why--guess I started holding on when I first started using the treadmill and now it's a habit. I am trying to train myself not to, but once I get lost in my music I usually end up holding on again.
  • saltedcaramel86
    saltedcaramel86 Posts: 238 Member
    I don't hold on to them but I do reach out to them from time to time. It might be worse for others but the treadmill is horrible for me and my balance. I am pretty well coordinated but walking on the treadmill just throws me off balance. I only use it in the winter time when the weather is bad, I would much rather be out on a trail hiking. So they could be even less coordinated than I am and need the stability.

    This! Only, I'm fairly UNco-ordinated. Heck, last year while walking the dog on LEVEL ground, I lost my footing, fell and sprained my ankle quite badly. Was on crutches and off work for a week! :noway: :embarassed: I'm normally okay on the treadmill but sometimes just reach for it to regain my balance if I feel a little "off"
  • delonda1
    delonda1 Posts: 525 Member
    when I do treadmill (hardly ever, its my lazy workout)

    i hold on with one hand so i can text with the other
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    Because. This:

    funny-girl-treadmill-fail.gif

    QFT, that would be me :laugh:
  • harribeau2012
    harribeau2012 Posts: 644 Member
    I notice regular looking people (not old or overweight people) holding on to the rails while walking on the treadmill. Why do they do that? Doesn't even look like they're walking fast either.

    What's the the point of walking if you need a rail to hold on to? There's no rails in the real world.

    The fastest I can walk on a treadmill, before I have to start running, is 4.4 mph. I don't need to hold on to anything either.

    They're doing it to annoy you... and it seems to be working. Oh, congratulations on not having to hold on to anything. That's a total NSV.


    LOL!!!!
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,046 Member
    Please for the love of god.......... STOP HOLDING ON TO THE MACHINE! whats the effen point of putting the treadmill on a steep incline if youre gonna HOLD ON!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????????????????????????
    get off the treadmill!!! :devil:

    Please just get off the treadmill!
  • jayche
    jayche Posts: 1,128 Member
    Heartrate.
  • skeo
    skeo Posts: 471 Member
    Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy do these topics keep popping up?! It's actually making me angry, because I AM one of those "normal, young" looking people who walk and hold onto the treadmill...what or why does it concern or bother you? I am on that treadmill, MOVING..but in case you would like to know, I have knee issues, and my cartilidge is pretty much gone, so I can't walk for long periods without wanting my knees feeling like they want to rip apart..BUT I still continue to challenge myself and will NOT succumb to saying, "oh well..I guess I'll never run"...so let me (and the others) do what we do..and worry about you and yourself only. PLEASE.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Why do people fall for these fishing threads, and get mad about it?
  • Going4Lean
    Going4Lean Posts: 1,078 Member
    perhaps because we are all individuals with our own thoughts and ideas.

    Also the heart rate monitors or what ever there called.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Dear everyone that is posting heated/angry replies to the OP.

    You're doing exactly what they wanted you to do.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Why do people fall for these fishing threads, and get mad about it?

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Please for the love of god.......... STOP HOLDING ON TO THE MACHINE! whats the effen point of putting the treadmill on a steep incline if youre gonna HOLD ON!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????????????????????????
    get off the treadmill!!! :devil:

    Please just get off the treadmill!

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: TRUE
  • alifer
    alifer Posts: 387 Member
    I feel safer holding on. Stability or whatever - but it probably has a lot to do with the 4 surgeries my sister-in-law had on her hand & wrist after falling off of one.

    I much prefer the elliptical or running outside, but that isn't always possible.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Guess what OP, there are no treadmills in the real world (save for airports). Why are you walking on a treadmill when you could be walking outside? Whats the purpose of walking when you could be running? Why are you judging other's workouts when you should only be focused on your own?

    :laugh: This ^^
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,046 Member
    Please for the love of god.......... STOP HOLDING ON TO THE MACHINE! whats the effen point of putting the treadmill on a steep incline if youre gonna HOLD ON!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????????????????????????
    DUDE!!!:devil:

    Please just get off the treadmill and let a hottie with awesome spandex or a running skirt get on!! :bigsmile:
  • rompers16
    rompers16 Posts: 5,404 Member
    How many calories do you burn being judgmental?:huh:
  • motherofthree1974
    motherofthree1974 Posts: 21
    I really don't care about what people think if i am holding on the treadmill cause as long as i know i am working out. I don't go to the gym to criticize others because i am there to work out. And yes i do hold on the rails when i work out.
  • JessRaddatz
    JessRaddatz Posts: 204 Member
    I seriously cannot walk a straight line, lol! I have to hold on, otherwise I will fall off the side. Yes, I am just that coordinated.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    And....they just keep coming.

    Fishing-Supply.jpg
  • SPBROOKS68
    SPBROOKS68 Posts: 561 Member
    I look normal but hold the rails as I have neuropathy and get off balance easy which whould cause me to go flying off the back...so SAFETY!
  • jamers3111
    jamers3111 Posts: 495 Member
    My mother is legally blind, thus has trouble with her balance. She loves walking on the treadmill and holds on to the rails. If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all.
  • ademiter
    ademiter Posts: 176 Member
    Because. This:

    funny-girl-treadmill-fail.gif

    Ummmmmmm THIS FOR SURE!!!!!!!!!!!! lol
  • xandra
    xandra Posts: 101 Member
    Question ---Why do you care? Focus on yourself.
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member

    This, mine does. Or they could have health issues that you can't see. I have inner ear/balance problems and sometimes I need to hold on even though I know I am not going to fall.

    Exactly.

    I also have inner ear problems, and it feels like the world is spinning when it's acting up; I get nauseous, fall down, the whole ball of wax. If I'm having a mild episode, I will walk on the treadmill, and if I feel my balance going off I have something to hold onto; at least I'm still doing what I have to. Now, when it's not acting up I'm all out running on that thing at around 7 to 8 mph, or I'm running outside if there isn't a sheet of ice or snow pack on the ground.

    So the moral of the story is this: people may have health issues that require them to hold onto the rails, and just because you're on a treadmill doesn't mean you're somehow less than someone who runs and/or walks outside. Each have their own advantages and set backs. The important thing is that a person is doing something to help themselves, which is commendable in my book, holding onto the rails and all.

    :flowerforyou:

    Adding...why does anyone CARE how someone else uses a treadmill, or how they look running outside, or ??? If it's not a personal friend of yours for whom you have concerns for their health/safety, FFS, you don't need to worry about them!
    I think this is why so many people feel uncomfortable at gyms or walking/running outside. The amazing amount of judgement by others. They're getting off the freakin' couch and should be commended for doing SOMETHING for their health. Enough said!
  • kewasko
    kewasko Posts: 1
    I hold on to the rails because I have MS that causes severe instability at random times and I would end up flat on my face otherwise. I look normal on the outside but I'm a hot mess on the inside. :)
  • krisbychiken
    krisbychiken Posts: 72 Member
    I can't walk in a straight line. I lightly hold onto them so I don't fall on my face. Mind ya bizzniss.
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    Because. This:

    funny-girl-treadmill-fail.gif

    Ummmmmmm THIS FOR SURE!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

    in this case she's running way too fast and if she held on would probably hurt herself even more! As a person who had crummy balance in the past, I've actually fallen off a treadmill AND while just walking on a bumpy sidewalk...oops...
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    OP. You should not judge what others are doing. Some people might be recovering from an injury, or may have balance, muscle or joint problems. As long as you are able to do your workout the way you want to - why worry about what others are doing? Live and let live - everyone has to start somewhere.

    I have just come back from a very short run the park after breaking a big fear of mine - running outside at my snails pace for five minutes. I am trying my best. I would hate to think people were judging me negatively.

    ^^^^^^^^
  • towens00
    towens00 Posts: 1,033 Member
    I walk / run regularly on my treadmill when weather or schedule doesn't allow outside. As I get easily distracted & have managed to launch myself off several times over a period of years, I always have a hand lightly resting on or just above. Don't do well injured. Some of us are not "well balanced" :)

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