C.O.L.B.E.R.T Treadmill

On February 10, 2010, NASA launched a module

of the International Space Station. Oddly enough, the module’s treadmill drew a considerable amount of media attention. That’s because Stephen Colbert, a political satirist and host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, had attempted to have Tranquility named after him. NASA refused – thereby overriding America’s popular vote – but the space agency offered up the treadmill’s name as a consolation prize. The astronauts’ treadmill is now dubbed the C.O.L.B.E.R.T., or Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill.

When we look at modern treadmills such as the C.O.L.B.E.R.T., we tend not to think of their ancient history. After all, today’s electronic treadmills use advanced technologies: they monitor heart rates, play MP3s, and provide virtual physical trainers. But treadmills build upon technology that is at least as old as ancient Athens and Rome. Ancient treadmills were of course manual, and they were used to accomplish tasks for the community. For instance, animals and people turned large treadwheels in order to grind grain, raise construction cranes, and pump water.

The history of treadmills took an important turn in the early 19^th century. England’s Sir William Cubitt, a civil engineer, encouraged prisons to use treadmills in their efforts to reform prisoners. He designed a treadmill that generated power for mills. Prisoners held onto a bar and stepped from paddle to paddle on a large wheel. Their shifts lasted for eight hours each. It was believed that through this unnatural amount of exercise, prisoners would reflect and repent.

The modern application of treadmills for health and enjoyment was triggered by events in the 1940s. When the U.S. drafted soldiers for WWII, authorities became alarmed by the number of out-of-shape men. Physical fitness became a national priority. Schoolchildren were encouraged to exercise, and gyms sprang up across the country. Shortly thereafter, the cardiologists Robert Bruce and Wayne Quinton developed a treadmill that could be used to diagnose heart and lung disease. By the 1960s, doctors were urging the commercial production of treadmills to support aerobic exercise. Stairmaster purchased the rights to Bruce and Quinton’s medical treadmill, and the modern treadmill industry was born.

For the past fifty years or so, fitness enthusiasts have consistently encouraged fitness equipment manufacturers to develop better and better treadmills. Nowadays, companies release enhanced treadmill lines on a yearly basis. Whether a customer seeks a simple exercise machine, one with luxury features, or one that will work in outer space, a treadmill has been designed just with him or her in mind.