Dusting off My Home Treadmill

My treadmill. I eat people that size for lunch.

When we bought our current home a couple of years ago I made sure we factored in a treadmill--a nice quiet and powerful one. Got this baby delivered from Costco online. Had to get my friend Jack to carry it up the stairs, it was so ridiculously heavy, even unassembled.

I actually used the thing on a regular basis for about three months ending a year and a half ago. I used it every other day for about 20 minutes. I noticed an improvement in my health but nothing like I did when I started walking around the neighbourhood every day for the same amount of time this spring.

I found the treadmill tedious and boring. My kids were always excited when I got on but hassled me all the time and I tensed up worrying about their safety, especially my two-year-old at the time.

I set up numerous fans and perspired like the dickens. I was really out of shape. Walking on the treadmill isn't quite as good as walking in the real world but I did have a few fantastic workouts where I got lost in my thoughts, exercised for over a half hour and pumped up the incline a bit to get my blood pumping even more. Endorphins flowed freely.

Time on the treadmill at the gym seems to pass so much faster than at home. In both situations I have headphones playing music but at the gym, maybe, I can let my mind wander when I'm not worrying about family coming and going. Also, not staring at a wall, as I do at home, might be a better environment.

The treadmill I walk and jog on at my clinic's gym is a pro-quality treadmill. It's very sturdy and very powerful. My floor tends to wobble at home, just a bit, but enough to distract me.

With winter suddenly here, I decided to literally dust off my treadmill and home and test it out. One thing I noticed tonight is that I'm Superman now compared to before. I'm so much stronger and my heart hardly notices the challenge. I'm stronger and more fit. I've come a long way. The old me on that treadmill was a sickly, profusely sweaty, unhealthy man.

Heavy D

Speaking of which, rapper Heavy D passed away today. He was only 44. I'm not familiar with him in any way beyond recognizing his name and knowing he was heavy, but it's yet another overweight celeb dying in their early forties.

I let my eight-year-old son try the treadmill tonight, using every precaution to keep him safe. Man did he love it. He put in more than 15 minutes in his formal dress clothes. He was fiddling with the incline and speed, slowing it down to have a drink of water, and trying out running. He was very, very happy about his experience and immensely proud of himself. I suspect he'll want to do it a lot more.

He's not a very good runner because he always hops and skips and then slows down. He also has poor form with his arms (he's had a lot of fine motor skill issues.) Running on a treadmill might force him into a proper technique and boost his confidence in sports at school and in soccer.