Manual Treadmill Benefits And How Do They Keep You Fit

What is a Manual Treadmill?

Manual treadmill is a non motorized treadmill or a motorless one. You don’t need electricity to move on a manual treadmill, your own motion and pace controls the speed of the treadmill. Whether you want to walk or you want to run, it all depends on the kind of effort you put in.

They are very simple machines which can have a flat, inclined or a curved belt. So the effort you put in to move yourself will also be the kind of speed you will reach.

There are a lot of great benefits of using motorless treadmills over electric or motorized ones which can help you make a good buying choice.

Advantages or benefits of Manual Treadmills

1. Less Expensive, Affordable

These treadmills are much cheaper than their electric counterparts because they are simpler. They are a great way to exercise if you are looking for a machine that can help you with your walking or running indoors which makes them a popular choice as home fitness equipment

Some of them are available for less than a 100$. It can be a great addition to your home, in a lot of use cases. If you don’t want to go out on bad weather days, if you have elderly people at home or even if you are going through a recovery phase, these machines make a really good choice.

2. Responds To Your Pace – Full Control Of The Workout

Unlike motorized treadmills, manual ones are directly dependent on the effort you put in. You can walk or run according to your workout goals. You don’t need to adjust anything or are not required to match the pace of the machine. Simply slow down or move faster or combine different types of exercises such as walk, sprint or jog in a single session

This benefit alone is good for senior people or pregnant women who have to adjust their pace often. This also makes it more secure as there is a lot less chance of having an injury when you don’t have a motor running the belt under your feet

3. Lightweight and Easy Storage

Manual treadmills are much lighter and can be easily moved around as compared to heavy and cumbersome electric treadmills with heavy motors and frames.

If you are in a rented place or you have to move often, moving a big treadmill along with you can be a tough job. Even moving them within the home is not easy. Manual ones are perfect for such situations.

You can even store them neatly when not in use, a lot of them come with foldable options. Even if you have to dismantle them for storage or reassemble them, it won’t take much time

These machines are an excellent choice for places with space constraints

3. No Electricity Needed

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of a self-powered treadmill is also the most obvious one. It does not need electricity. You can put them anywhere – outdoors, in the corner, on the roof, wherever you wish without looking for an electricity source to plug it in.

In areas where you have frequent power cuts, this becomes an essential. It ensures you don’t miss your workouts, no matter where you are.

Another advantage is in your energy bill, this machine will not add to it.

4. Use Of Proper Form

Proper form of any exercise you do is very important. Without proper form and technique, you are much more likely to have injuries and other problems especially in the long run. Same if true with walking, jogging or running. You can easily get joint or knee problems with wrong running techniques.

Many people tend to land on the heel first when jogging or running which in turn puts more pressure on knees and joints.

Manual treadmills because of their incline or curvature can help correct this as you are forced to land the ball of your foot first. This can help improve posture gail and stride

Slow runners or non runners who are not used to running are much more comfortable on them as they are not forced to match the pace of the machine.

5. Good for HIIT Training

These treadmills are also very good for sprints and HIIT intervals as they can be used for fast running and slowing down without any need to match the pace of the machine. A lot of professional sport athletes need such high intensity training

6. Good For Walking And Recovery / Rehab

These are also a great option if the user is looking for something which can help him walk. These situations are common in injury and rehab cases where you have to build up strength slowly and with the right technique

7. Low Maintenance

Because manual treadmills have less moving parts, no motor and electricity, they are much easier to maintain as compared to powered models. They can easily last for years without any input on maintenance from your side

8. More Efficient Calorie Burners

It takes a lot more power and effort to move on a non-electric treadmill as you have to use your muscles to move and control the speed . There are studies which show that they burn 30% more calories than motorized ones.

This is great for people who are looking for weight loss or reducing belly.. Burning more calories is essential for losing weight. So they are also helpful in weight loss

9 Safety

For people with balance issues or who are prone to falling down and injuring themselves, these treadmills are again a very good choice. There is much more control over speed which in turn helps in preventing injuries.

Same is also the case with elderly people or seniors who look for more consistency in their walks rather than speed. They also need to be more careful when handling treadmills. Motorized ones can be really dangerous if you don’t know how to stop them in an emergency situation.

Manual Treadmill Disadvantages

There are some disadvantages of manual treadmills

Difficult incline

Unlike an electric treadmill which can seamlessly change the incline while you are still running, on a non-electric treadmill you will have to get down before you can adjust anything.
A curved treadmill is a lot better than than flat bed on an incline where you can vary your incline by moving your feet forward or in the middle of the running belt

Less features

Modern treadmills have a lot of user friendly features like apps and built- in workouts, data saving and bright easy displays which have a lot of information and metrics for you to see. You just can not compare them to manuals in terms of features

Less sturdy

They are also less sturdy and most of them can not handle heavy user weight. Lack of motor and a light frame make them less sturdy especially if you are heavily built. Sturdiness is also a very important safety aspect which you can not ignore. Curved ones are definitely better when it comes to being sturdy.

More for walking than running

These machines are more suited for walking rather than running because of their light construction but then you can also choose heavier machines or curved ones which are built better.

Inconsistent pace and speed, hard to regulate

Because the motion and speed depends on the user, consistency of pace is also dependent. You are not forced to maintain consistency which can result in varying speeds. Non runners can find it hard to find their rhythm and conditioning. But then this can be worked upon by doing regular sessions. .

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