Advice for treadmill use?

[starwatcher]

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*waves* Hi. I forgot about this comm until I saw Rydra's post, then realized maybe someone here can help me.

Long story short -- I'm spending week-on week-off between my dad's town and my town. My dad's town has a good indoor community pool, which is reserved for lap-swimming 3 evenings per week. Since June, I've improved my time for 50 laps (.77 mile) from 66 minutes to 54 minutes, 10 seconds. \o/ So I do an extra 5 laps, for a total time of 59 minutes 50 seconds. (I'm slow, but I keep going and going and going...)

I don't have that opportunity in my town, so this week I finally decided to start making use of my treadmill that's been gathering dust for lo, these many years. I managed a decent pace -- 2 miles per hour -- for 35 minutes.

BUT!



When I see people using treadmills in TV commercials, they're walking upright, without holding on to the machine. I can't manage that. What happens is...

a. I have to hold on to the side bars. But I'm short-armed and short-legged. If I hold on to the side bars and keep my body upright, I'm so close to the front of the machine I'm afraid my foot will hit the machine floor in front of the belt, which would cause stumbling. Therefore...

b. I walk with my feet a little back and a slight lean forward, which isn't great for my lower back. Also...

c. Every once in a while, my foot seems to "stutter". I'm not really sure what's happening; I miss a step, or my foot comes down too hard, it catches the belt, which causes a slight pause/jerk in the belt movement, which causes an almost-stumble. This happens 4 or 5 times during the session, which makes me less inclined to let go of the side bars (in section a). The frequency decreases as the session progresses -- I guess my rhythm is staying more consistent -- but never completely goes away.


I've dug out an old, thick, dowel-rod. Tomorrow I'll tape it securely to the most forward part of the curve of the side bars. This will allow me to bring my arms into a more natural width for me (the side bars are way too wide for comfort). It will also decrease my sweaty hands trying to slip off the side bars (wood is much better for friction), and will change my grip to overhand (palms down) instead of sideways (palms inward). I'm hoping that this will get me enough farther away from the front of the machine that I can maintain a more normal, upright walking stance.

Is there anything else you can think of to help me use this treadmill properly? (By which I mean, with a normal walking carriage.) And does anyone have an idea what's happening with my foot-belt-catch stumbles, and how I can avoid them?

Thanks for reading this far. I really appreciate any ideas you can offer.
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Comments

[wanted_a_pony]

Afraid I can't help, but thanks for asking this question! I also have relatively short limbs for my torso, compounded by central obesity, & I really recognize the posture/angle problems you describe. I don't recognize the gait hiccup--perhaps because you're much more fit than I--but I hope someone has other suggestions about ways to improve walking carriage on treadmills....

[starwatcher]

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Thanks for commenting. Yeah, us short people have to make adjustments that others never think of.

The gait hiccup very likely might be me -- every once in a while when walking, it seems like my right foot doesn't respond correctly to my intentions. Instead of lifting smoothly, it sort of slides/drags along the floor; I can literally half-stumble while walking down a smooth hallway. But I know that about myself, and I'm being ultra-conscious of making my feet work properly smoothly on the treadmill. I don't know; maybe my muscle cop-out is stronger than my conscious mind. But Rydra's given me a suggestion to try which may help.
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[rydra_wong]

When I see people using treadmills in TV commercials, they're walking upright, without holding on to the machine. I can't manage that.

Just trying to get a clear picture -- what's the problem with that? Staying balanced? Keeping up speed?

Can you walk without holding on if the treadmill is set at a slower pace?

The dowel-rod sounds like a great strategy, btw.

[starwatcher]

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If the dowel-rod helps with my posture, it won't be a problem. But I suspect that my walking would be smoother/easier if I didn't have to hold on. I feel a little insecure on the thing, and the gait problems / holding on don't help.

I haven't tried walking slower, because I'm trying to push myself. That's a good idea, though; maybe if I go slow for a bit, I can work up to fast. But since I have the swimming stamina, I want to translate that to the treadmill.

Thanks. I'm so used to adjusting the too-big world to make it work for me, it's become automatic to figure out how to "fix" things.
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[recessional]

The very first thing that strikes me is: are you sure the treadmill belt is sufficiently tight? You mention it's been gathering dust for years/etc, which means it may well not be. This has a significant chance of making your steps more unsteady (as the belt itself may slip or be unsteady) which might account for that "stutter".

You SHOULD be able to tighten it yourself (we have a hex key to do so), but depending on how old it is that might take some searching on the internet for a manual (assuming you don't have the manual anymore).


The second thing is that I'd recommend maybe slowing down for a bit first. Yes, you have stamina built up already for swimming (yay!) but you're actually using different muscles when you walk! Especially around stability in your core, in your legs and in your hips. There's all kinds of SMALL muscles that are now suddenly being asked to hold you upright that are used to being supported by the water (that's part of why water is such a low-impact cardio!), and that will impact EVERYTHING.

If you slow down but focus on your posture and form while you walk rather than on I MUST WALK FASTER, you'll still be getting benefit, but also be also allowing the REST of your body to adjust to this new position and activity. It'll also let your body potentially learn how not to stumble on the front of the machine, allowing you to fix up your posture a bit.

[zenolalia]

Yeah, the gait hiccup sounds like a belt issue to me, too, given the long storage and all.

I've found treadmills to just be hell on my back to the extent that I don't use them anymore, but I also have a lot of muscle deterioration in my core because I have shortened tendons in my ankle that makes me walk like a toddler in high heels.

So I can confirm that most back and especially lower back/hip pain in regards to treadmills comes from having under-developed muscles in that area that are being pushed past their limits, which is making the larger and more developed muscles overcompensate.

So, I second all of these suggestions. Check the belt tightness, keep a close eye on your posture, and go slow until it stops hurting.

[starwatcher]

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Thanks for your input. I couldn't find an adjustment hole/screw/knob, but I'll check when I get home from my dad's place. I actually am accustomed to quite a bit of walking -- long school hallways, and I'm a country girl, going out to take care of the animals. But using the dowel rod for better arm/hand placement and slowing down slightly did improve my posture and I had no pain during my second sessions. I appreciate your advice.
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[starwatcher]

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Hi! Thanks for your input. I had a chance to try it out, then came to my dad's house (I'm his carer every other week), so apologies for the delayed reply.

I wasn't able to locate the model # of my treadmill; I'll search again when I get home. I also might be able to find the manual when I get home (I know where it should be... I looked, but didn't see any obvious places where I might make an adjustment.

"Slower" helped a bit. The thing is, if I'm going somewhere (like down a long hallway at school), I walk naturally at a pretty fast clip. When I tried walking at 1 MPH, it was so slow that I had trouble maintaining my balance. A little experimentation suggests that my natural gait is between 1.5 to 1.7 MPH (my treadmill doesn't seem to be super accurate in its display). Keeping to that speed -- and using the dowel rod I rigged as a stabilizer -- did help me maintain an upright posture and decreased the stutter-steps. It also gave me time to sort-of analyze what's happening. I'm pretty sure it's me landing a trifle harder than normal on my left foot because of a fleeting glitch in my balance. Then because that leg pauses its smooth motion, it holds the belt for a split second.

But now that I realize, I can work on that. And I need to figure out a way to move my dowel rod back about 2 more inches, but then I think I'll be sitting walking pretty.

Thanks again for your advice; I really appreciate it.
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