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

1…456810

Replies

  • Michelle2W
    Michelle2W Posts: 163 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?

    Amen!!!!
  • thinbitch63
    thinbitch63 Posts: 15 Member
    The only thing worse than being fat and doing the treadmill is doing it and face planting! The harder I hold on the more I work my arms!! LOL! See I just got double workout ! I'm not a seasoned workout wizard so I will be holding on until I get comfortable with it!!!
  • tastopanski
    tastopanski Posts: 12
    I'm fairly new to the treadmill...and yes I'm one of those annoying people that hold on to the rails. lol. My balance is a little off, and my ankles are weak, hopefully this gets better as time goes on. I know I am losing some of the purpose of the treadmill by holding on, but AT LEAST I am making an effort in trying to better my self and my body.
  • Gabrielm80
    Gabrielm80 Posts: 1,458 Member
    The rails on treadmills at my gym have a heart rate monitor/reader on them. Or if they're walking on an incline to help them keep up.

    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.
    Yes I have vertigo so holding on if I get dizzy helps tell my mind to ignore the feeling that I'm falling down and spinning around. That said I tend to only use the rails to activate the heart rate monitor. But any body who has a motion sickness problem take a few weeks to get use to the whole ground moving as you walk thing. Took me two weeks of using my treadmill everyday before getting off the machine felt like I was getting off tilt a while, but brains will learn how to process information and it becomes normal over time.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    My husband holds onto the rails because he has diabetic neuropathy in both feet and poor balance. If he doesn't hold the railings he is quite likely to fall.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 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:


    And what business is this of yours??
  • zentha1384
    zentha1384 Posts: 323 Member
    My thighs are fat and rub together and if I don't hold on at 2.8-3.5 mph my leg i can trip over my own feet. Going slower or fast it doesn't cause the problems.
  • mj1209
    mj1209 Posts: 6
    I wish I didn't have to hold onto them!! I have lost 55lbs, though so it IS working. I have nerve issues in one leg and can't balance properly on a treadmill so for me it really helps.
  • mustangmary11
    mustangmary11 Posts: 46 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?

    Thank you.

    I might add - OP did you forget where you came from? Or did you hop on and take off the first handful of times? Maybe they are new to the game and aren't used to walking on a moving floor.

    My fitness level when I started at the gym was slug. I got on the treadmill and guess what I HELD ON. Not being used to it, it helped me with my balance. Yes I walk outside too and there are no rails, but my sidewalk is NOT MOVING like on the treadmill. I walked a total of .15 mile that first few times and stayed on 10 minutes. I now do several miles. I walk at a moderate pace for at least half hour, then I ride the bike for another half hour. Then next day I do the circuit, then switch back the next day. I've gone from slug to well not slug. Everyone works out differently. The point is that they are working out and moving!! Jeez
  • cynthiarochellebrown
    cynthiarochellebrown Posts: 3
    I think they are conditioned by their existence as part of the machine. Kind of a structural suggestion. Though really they should only be used for safety. Walking with arms not swinging is stilting - unnatural.
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
    'Cause when I'm on the 'mill my glasses are off due to fogging. Combine naturally crap balance with being unable to see very well and those rails become a necessity.

    Unless I'm within the field of view of the OP. Then it's because I'm trying to piss them off. :laugh:
  • cynthiarochellebrown
    cynthiarochellebrown Posts: 3
    I am recovering from knee surgery and have restrictions. I could blow out my grafts with a mis-step. Saving the natural trails for my doctor's okay.
  • Skeebee
    Skeebee Posts: 740 Member
    Obvious troll is obvious.

    :drinker:
  • cynthiarochellebrown
    cynthiarochellebrown Posts: 3
    Laughing at myself - because I'm thinking, "Where is the LIKE button!?"
  • demonlullaby
    demonlullaby Posts: 499 Member
    i am that person that holds on to the rails. i even hold them when i run.. very awkward but i can't bring myself to let go. i had a bad experience years ago.. i wasn't holding onto the rails, i was running pretty fast.. and then i tripped or something. fell off the treadmill and got pretty hurt.

    now i ALWAYS hold those damn rails.
  • HopefulLeigh
    HopefulLeigh Posts: 363 Member
    I get confused at this same thing.
    I can understand on the stair master, or the older/disabled crowd.

    But a healthy looking man, running at a 0 incline at 6mph, holding on to the sides and/or top to keep up with the belt?
    Or the fitness-competitor type holding on at a 3.5 incline, at a 3.5 pace?

    :noway:

    Even as a size 22 newbie who was "allergic" to exercise, I didn't do any of those things.

    ETA: the man running at 6mph holding on really was holding on only for the purpose of keeping up. I am still completely baffled, and I'm not the staring type.

    Disabled doesn't always mean old.

    I'll hold on at 3.5 mph and a 1% incline. Why? Because I have a neuromuscular disease and it helps me steady myself. You'd never know it, looking at me. So Brava to you, you insensitive dolt. You started somewhere different from me and a host of other people. It doesn't actually make you better than anyone. Stare away, as you were apparently taught no better.
  • HopefulLeigh
    HopefulLeigh Posts: 363 Member
    Also, as has been mentioned a dozen times if it's been mentioned once, a ton of treadmills have a heart rate monitor on them. To get a reading, you have to ... yes, that's correct ... you have to hold on.
  • MOJOtheDUCK
    MOJOtheDUCK Posts: 26
    Who the F cares what "other people" are doing at the gym?! Here's a thought, focus on you're f'ing self! And that's the reason that overweight people are afraid to go to the gym!

    *gets off her soapbox*


    Thank Dog for my gym! It is full of intense, hairy, powerlifting/strongman meatheads...and they are the nicest, most encouraging people I've ever met. Plus the treadmill is always free. They have never said a word about me being on the treadmill at all or how fast I'm going or the fact that I hold onto the rails b/c I freakin' feel like it!
  • cindylu35
    cindylu35 Posts: 43 Member
    When I first started out, I had to hold onto them because my body (core) wasn't strong enough to keep me walking straight! lol I've lost just shy of 17 lbs now and I'm not holding on at all anymore. I think it's just a matter of strength and coordination. :) Plus I've found the faster I walk, the easier it is to NOT hold on!
  • Lennonluv2
    Lennonluv2 Posts: 956 Member
    I hold the front rails...the HRM is there.
  • Wetcoaster
    Wetcoaster Posts: 1,788 Member
    Can you please tell us what to wear,how to walk,how to eat and where to live also?
  • tanyalevan
    tanyalevan Posts: 182
    I don't understand why people at the gym judge anyone who uses a treadmil!? who cares if you are walking, jogging or running atleast you made the time to go there and try!

    Yeah you can do all this outside but some people may have anxiety walking outside or they are scared of walking the streets and may feel more comfortable indoors...

    Don't be so quick to judge.

    This is why I never see anyone as big as I am at the gym...ever.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 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?

    Love this! :drinker:
  • mnfrank11
    mnfrank11 Posts: 35 Member
    I don't understand why people at the gym judge anyone who uses a treadmil!? who cares if you are walking, jogging or running atleast you made the time to go there and try!

    Yeah you can do all this outside but some people may have anxiety walking outside or they are scared of walking the streets and may feel more comfortable indoors...

    Don't be so quick to judge.

    This is why I never see anyone as big as I am at the gym...ever.

    Agreed completely! I would prefer to be outside, however if it is late in the evening (dark) or early in the morning and no one is out, the area I have to go run is a little sketchy, so in those times I use the "dreadmill" Any effort is better than no effort, even if they are holding on, at least they are off the couch.
  • YourLotusFlower11
    YourLotusFlower11 Posts: 90 Member
    We get it u do it better!

    Jeez some posts r simply put up due to pure vanity.
  • Magdaloonie
    Magdaloonie Posts: 146 Member
    So I was working up my nerve to go to the college gym and try some machines out. Thanks, OP, for reinforcing my gym phobia.
  • naturesgate
    naturesgate Posts: 45 Member
    Don't concern yourself with what anyone thinks. We all have to start somewhere. If you want to walk at 2.5 mph while holding onto the rails that's your prerogative. People really need to stop being so damn judgmental.
  • Queen_JessieA
    Queen_JessieA Posts: 1,059 Member
    I don't understand why people at the gym judge anyone who uses a treadmil!? who cares if you are walking, jogging or running atleast you made the time to go there and try!

    Yeah you can do all this outside but some people may have anxiety walking outside or they are scared of walking the streets and may feel more comfortable indoors...

    Don't be so quick to judge.

    This is why I never see anyone as big as I am at the gym...ever.

    People are so quick to judge. So sad.
  • srey0701
    srey0701 Posts: 196 Member
    The treadmill has sensors to take your heart rate, I hold onto it to cool down and track my h/r. Not all the time, just periodically since it's not very safe to do that.
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    Don't concern yourself with what anyone thinks. We all have to start somewhere. If you want to walk at 2.5 mph while holding onto the rails that's your prerogative. People really need to stop being so damn judgmental.

    I agree. For some odd reason I tend to 'drift' from side to side on a treadmill. No idea why. So I hold onto the sides so I don't step on the sides of the treadmill and don't slip off.

Categories