Thread: just have to vent about incline walking (while holding on)

And the "limit your use to 30 min if anybody is waiting " really doesnt work because your not exactly gonna stand next to them waiting on them to finish so its always gonna look like no one is waiting.

Well.. gotta give them credit for trying something although an hour is way too long. My cardiologist and physical therapist prescribed walking at 3.5 and higher inclines and they make sure you hold onto the handles to keep a constant heart reading. I only do 15-30 minutes though.

But holding onto the handles defeats the purpose of incline walking does it not ?

yes and no..... you get the lower body moving and working(and still using the incline), but by holding on you dont use ant of the core muscles to stabilize you. = less work = lower heart rate
yes it is much less of a workout if you hold on (but that would be regardless of incline or not)

dude, why on earth would you even want to walk on a treadmil... INSIDE.??? go outside and run or walk..

Originally Posted by stepaukas

dude, why on earth would you even want to walk on a treadmil... INSIDE.??? go outside and run or walk..

not everybody lives in the beautiful countryside with the cute little trail leading up to the 300 year old oak tree that blossoms o so beautifully every spring. treadmil sure beats buying a kevlar vest (in my case)

Originally Posted by Gissurjon

not everybody lives in the beautiful countryside with the cute little trail leading up to the 300 year old oak tree that blossoms o so beautifully every spring. treadmil sure beats buying a kevlar vest (in my case)

studies have shown that when you have to "hold onto" the machine just to keep up the caloric expenditure is reduced by almost 50%. common sense tells you that if you have to hold on like that the speed and/or incline is too great for your current level of fitness.

The latter part is true, but if there have been studies done to support this, that's laughable. I'd like to see them actually.

do a search on much, much older posts...we talked about this topic here 8 years ago

Originally Posted by stepaukas

dude, why on earth would you even want to walk on a treadmil... INSIDE.??? go outside and run or walk..

I live in Canada bro.... it's freaking FREEZING right now

There can be cases where people have balance issues (e.g. recovering from minor stroke / atypical migraine) - the therapy can involve fast walks to let the body build to what it can tolerate. Usually these people progress well but can have relapses or sudden failures (which they will recover from). A fast walk holding on as you're noting would be ideal for them.

Being a somewhat rare combination of issue + someone motivated sufficiently, I highly doubt that the people annoying you fit into this group...but...

....I feel ya

if its cold in canada, wear an extra layer of polypro. you lift... toughen up!!!!
yes sir i lift, i'm a bodybuilder, but no way i'm going outside... its too cold.. hahaha.....to each their own, but walking inside is a joke to me..

Ya know, I get as angry as the next person about people cheating themselves when they exercise, but during the holiday season, you get a lot of overly obese people in the gym. These people have never done a workout in their lives so doing ANYTHING for them is better than sitting on a couch. Now, if I've seen that same person in the gym for a year cheating themselves, then that's when it gets sad.

and.....what if they just WANT to chill and find it relaxing ?
taking a leisurely stroll and letting their mind wander? just playing devils advocate ............

All valid points. Thanks for allowing me to vent everyone

Its a little frustrating, but not as bad as someone doing barbell curls in the squat rack.

I personally do about an hour and a half of mid-intensity cardio. I'm just starting out, so I cant just take off running... not yet anyway. I do 30 min on treadmill, 30 on bike, 30 back on treadmill.
So, for me it's about total calories burned... although it may take me 3 times as long as someone in better shape to burn those calories.

Originally Posted by Supplementcave

Its a little frustrating, but not as bad as someone doing barbell curls in the squat rack.

Word. Especially when my gym only has 1 squat rack.

irish monk ..... I think its great you are on the move way to go !!!!! I love seeing people get involved in fitness no matter what their goals and regimes.
I think that is the point I want to get across .... worry about what YOU are doing not what others may or may not be... (of course unless it interferes with your workout like using your equipment !! lol ) hear ya on the rack xxoo
I just want to say that EVERYONE in the gym is doing something for themselves... it may not be what you would do or in line with your goals but they are them and you are you. Each person has diff ideas and levels and bodies let them take their own path and learn for themselves.. they WILL get it !!

As someone who started out doing such cardio there is a few things that you guys are not considering or just don't understand about being obese. As an obese person your equalibrium < spelling ???? is not the same. When I was 495lbs I could barely walk and the treadmill moves even if you need it to stop to get your balance back therefore I had to hold on to the handles for safety.

I am now down to 320lbs and do almost all my cardio on the treadmill without holding on but I do ramp up the incline and on inclines past 5 I often find myself needing to hold on. I know there is less muscle activation when holding on but the heart rate does not go down comparatively.


ex/

What I mean is this. I am walking at 3.5 mph at a incline of 3 without holding on and have a HR of 125

I am then walking at 3.5mph at a incline of 4 while holding on my hr will be 126 or 127
this is still higher then it was at 3.5 & 3.

Yes it would be higher if I was able to not hold on but it is higher then my best effort while not holding on. I can also get up to an incline of 5.5 while holding on which gives me a much better arobic benifit then 3.5 without holding on.

As far as the 50% number that was thrown out I can tell you from over a year of daily treadmill work with inclines holding on and not that is simply not even close to the truth.

Be patient with us fat azz's it is hard for us to get our azz on the treadmill and if we stick with it we will eventually let go of the rails but they are their for a reason.

Also you may want to make a suggestion that someone made to me which worked wonders to getting me to where I could let go. A guy explained (nicely) to me that I would get a better workout if I let go but he also explained that I could do it slowly.

Keeping your index fingers on the rails allows you to keep your balance without supporting your bodyweight to the point of losing alot of core muscle activation.