Treadmills Outpace the Competition

Why buy a treadmill instead of another fitness machine? The simple fact is that treadmills deliver better results than the competition. When fitness clubs gained popularity in the 1960s, treadmills were the first cardio workout machines to hit their floors. Since then, treadmills have been joined by a number of exercise machines, but they’ve consistently maintained their popular edge over the competition. Exercisers seem to intuitively know what medical studies have suggested for years: treadmills are the most efficient route to a fit physique and a healthy heart.

One especially informative study was published on May 8, 1996 in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In the article entitled “Energy Expenditure with Indoor Exercise Machines,” scientists compare the effects of working out with six different exercise machines. Among both male and female participants, treadmills were found to outpace all other machines in the study, including: a stationary bike, a cross-country ski machine, a rowing machine, a stair-stepper, and an Airdyne. For example, the treadmill helped exercisers to burn as many as 200 kilocalories per hour more than they could with the stationary bicycle. The authors concluded that “the treadmill is the optimal indoor exercise machine for enhancing energy expenditure.”

In the years following the JAMA study, researchers have accumulated a wealth of additional evidence in support of treadmill use. Treadmill use has been tied to a reduced risk for Type II diabetes among obese adolescents, a reduced chance for breast cancer among women in a high-risk category, and improved walking ability and quality of life among patients with peripheral arterial disease. Treadmill use even seems to improve hip bone density in stroke victims and retrain their brains, significantly improving their mobility and overall health.

Of course, these data should not be used to guide all home exercisers. People with arthritis, for instance, should ask a doctor whether a low-impact treadmill would be safe to use, or whether recreational walking should be avoided altogether. Nonetheless, for the general population and people with a variety of health issues, treadmill use seems to be an ideal addition to daily life.