Gripping the treadmill

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chubberlang
chubberlang Posts: 30
in Fitness and Exercise
I see quite a lot of people in the gym holding onto the front of the treadmill with the incline cranked up high. Surely this defeats the object of increasing the angle if you are going to hold on like that? Does anyone do this? Is it not similar to lifting much heavier weights than you can handle comfortably but cheating on technique? Are you not better off keeping to an incline that you can handle without hanging on?

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  • holliemccabe
    holliemccabe Posts: 27
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    Bump
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    I will walk on the TM at the max incline and a decent pace and while I don't grip the handles as though my life depended on it I do hold on. Why? Because I don't want to go flying off the back. The whole point of increasing the angle is to make it harder and to simulate walking up a hill.
  • k9runner1963
    k9runner1963 Posts: 108 Member
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    I saw someone doing this at my gym, only they were holding on to the TV monitor attached to the treadmill!
  • chubberlang
    chubberlang Posts: 30
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    My point is that by holding on you reduce the amount of effort required so you would be better lowering the incline and not holding on at all - and get the same effect. Holding defeats the object of increasing the incline (in my opinion)
  • litatura
    litatura Posts: 569 Member
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    When I first started on the treadmill, I jacked up the incline and held on to the bars (I kept a light grip on them, just enough so that I felt balanced and secure on the treadmill). However, as I gained strength/endurance over the course of a few months and got used to the treadmill, I let go and haven't touch the bars since. It's a learning curve for some people, so I don't see anything wrong with holding on as long as you plan to let go eventually.
  • xerotolerance
    xerotolerance Posts: 58
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    I see people do this at my gym as well, and it pains me... I do sprints at 12 incline, pretty sure you won't fall off! Holding on makes it easier, so let go of those handles. :)

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