Talk:Treadmill

I am not too informed on the science - but could someone write something about momentum, or lack thereof - how this affects the speed you run on treadmill... --[[User:OldakQuill|Oldak Quill]] 19:28, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Load motors?

"Some treadmills have load motors" — What does this line mean? Should that be "loud motors"? Coffee 05:45, 30 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Help me please:

can some one let me know as what fearutes must be looked when buying a tread mill?

I dont; knwo any thing about the treadmill but am willling to buy one for me.

rajkantsharma@yahoo.com

Hi,

Is there any good websites where I can buy treadmill in UK cheaper than this one ?

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removed claim about professional cyclists

Removed: "When professional cyclists are tested they will use their own bicycles (instead of a bike machine) on a treadmill." When professional cyclists are tested they use their own bicycles on an indoor trainer, not a treadmill. FreplySpang (talk) 00:30, 19 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The fact that the treadmill is moving and not the runner makes no difference in a physical sense. What matters is that the runner is moving relative to the treadmill, just as a runner on the ground is moving relative to the ground. Since people have difficulty with this concept it helps to do some thought experiments: xD

The floor of a bus is also moving very fast relative to the ground but it doesn't take a herculean effort to walk to the front of the bus, nor is it easier to walk from the front to the back while it is moving. The same can be said about an airplane.

Picture a very, very long treadmill, like they have at airports in the form of moving walkways. Stand on the treadmill but don't run. You will move along with it. To get back to where you started you'll have to walk/run at the same speed as the treadmill and it won't feel any different than walking on the ground at the same speed for an equal amount of time.

There are tiny differences, like the energy it takes to get up to speed, which is minimal, and the force of wind resistance, which is a true difference. Also, treadmills can be quite soft and springy, but some running tracks are soft as well. That people agree that running on a treadmill is easier than running outside is a topic that belongs in the realm of sports psychology. I invite others with a grasp of basic physics to help put this myth to rest.

I think that difference between running on a treadmill and running outside is not a topic that belongs in the realm of sports psychology. For example, I can simple jump upright on a treadmill and this move will be the same as running, because in both case I will move with the same velocity with respect to treadmill. When I move by all means with respect to treadmill my centre of gravity is moving with treadmill velocity. But my motion is more complicated than centre of gravity motion. Human body has more degree of freedom than one.72.245.155.59 22:19, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No, you can't jump onto an already fast-moving treadmill and instantaneously start running, if you are unable to accelerate that quickly. You will fall back (I've tried that). Anyway, in this case, being unable to accelerate is due to the friction by which the belt drags your shoes back, not to inertia, as your momentum will stay constant with respect to an inertial reference frame (such as the ceiling). --Army1987 19:50, 4 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Running on a treadmill is much easier than real running. The runner is not moving with regard to the treadmill, it is the belt which is moving, and the belt is moving due to the electric motor. The only parts of the runner which are moving are the legs. Real running requires acceleration of the whole body mass. And running up a gradient is only difficult on a treadmill because of the awkwardness of the gait; running up a hill requires that the runner moves their body weight against gravity. Jonathan Webley 14:33, 15 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This only occurs when accelerating. Marching at a constant speed on a horizontal treadmill is the same thing as doing the same on a road, except for air resistance and the fact that the surface of the belt is more regular than asphalt. And anyway, when walking (as opposed to running), inertia plays a very small role compared to friction (as you can accelerate from zero to the max speed you can reach without running, and decelerate from that to zero, within not much more than one or two steps). There are significant differences only in the case of quick accelerations, as, with respect to an inertial frame of reference, you have to gain momentum and kinetic energy only in the case of the road ant not in that of the treadmill. --Army1987 19:50, 4 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Another Disavantage

One disadvantage to running on a treadmill is that the machine pulls your foot back instead of you physically doing the work. This isn't really a big deal for long distance runners, but highspeed treadmills for sprinters only allow your to do half the work. When you put your foot down the machine pulls it back so all you have to do is pull your other foot forward, which means that you don't apply the pushing action of the back foot that you get running on a track or road.

                                     College Athlete