People walking on treadmills in the gym

[crinklechips]

OK to start with I know I'm being a bit U but I need to have a mini-rant.

I use currently use the gym mainly for running intervals and speedier sessions which are easier to manage indoors.

Every time I go in all the treadmills are taken, and mostly by people walking.

Now I can totally understand that people have different fitness levels, might be using the treadmill to warm up or for recovery and that's absolutely fine.

But there seems to a growing number of people (actually, exclusively younger women in my observation) just using the treadmills for a gentle stroll while messing around on their phones.

I ended up next to a young woman last night who spent the entire half hour I was on the neighbouring treadmill walking at 3kph, no incline, while scrolling instagram. I can barely call that exercise, it's below a normal walking pace. If that's how you want to kill time then I guess it's up to you but it just seems selfish when there's a queue of people waiting for a treadmill.

They pay the same fees you do ... get over yourself.

Impact and loading forces cause cartilage in joints to adapt and strengthen, so exercise, including running, is generally good for joints. The reason people get bad knees and other injuries is because they have: done too much too soon, overtraining, lack of rest and recovery, weak supporting musculature (usually glutes and core), bad form, lack of cross training etc.

I walk on the treadmill with a slight incline as I have overactive thyroid and trying to stay fit while not increasing my heart rate too much. I do that, a slow bike ride and slow light weights. Probably loads of others wonder why I’m even bothering. It’s really none of your business why someone is walking.

Most of us are nice, though! I see ordinary people do extraordinary things in the gym. Everyone can do special stuff!

It would annoy me too tbh, it irritates me when people sit on the weight machines on their phones for ages and aren’t exercising, I get having a break between sets but they’re just distracted by their phones for ages, it’s selfish when others want to crack on. I do avoid busy times but nit everyone can

Judgy much.

I bet that woman doesn’t smell as much as you!

I totally agree. If you are very overweight, unfit or getting over an injury then fine. Otherwise it's just really inconsiderate. Either train properly or go home and use your mobile there.

I have an hour a week I'm in the gym building for DC's dance class and it's a good way to do my one fast/interval session as it's so much easier to get pacing right.

Sorry but that kills whatever sympathy I might have felt for your complaint stone dead.

You're complaining because you can't get on the machine you want in the exact one hour per week when you have nothing to do? And that's someone else's fault?

Running is great for you, but so is walking. As long as it's not a gentle stroll. If you want to get fitter, you need to build up a sweat (a tiny one) and get a bit out of breath.

Personally I think walking outside is much better for you than being on a treadmill and it's much easier to fit into your day than a run is as you don't need special clothes or to have a shower afterwards. So you can usually go in the daytime (a mile'walk before work or at lunchtime is still exercise).

So I don't see the point of treadmill walking except maybe for a minute or two to warm up before a run. If you are doing strength work you need to do completely different warming up to walking.

And you're not being judgy? Why is everyone obsessed with sweat on here? Don't you think people use deodorant before they exercise?

Why are people assuming that everybody is in the gym to lose weight/burn calories/tone up? Maybe these women are walking on treadmills because... they like it! It makes them feel good, it helps their mental health, it allows them to think more clearly, it helps them sleep after, etc. Maybe they are practising walking so they can get their nightclub sashay just right. Or maybe they've got self-powered pacemakers fitted and they must keep moving at all times. Maybe they're trying to break in new indoor dance shoes. Maybe they're rehearsing for their upcoming movie role as "woman walking slowly in background."

It’s just the latest trend. If they pay membership then they have just as much right as you do to use the treadmill. Their walking is no less valid than your running. Yes, it’s perfectly possible to walk outside, just as it is to run intervals.

Go at non peak times or when the gym first opens in the morning. I go at 5:30am because
it’s quiet and I can get on what I want when I want. Going when it’s busy is impossible because people hog equipment and use stuff in weird ways. Skipping in a squat rack anyone?!’

I have an hour a week I'm in the gym building for DC's dance class and it's a good way to do my one fast/interval session as it's so much easier to get pacing right.

Oh well, stand aside plebs!

OP has her one hour a week and it's a good way for her to do this during her dc's dance class when she happens to be in the building.

Do you not realise how self-focused that statement was?

OP I totally hear you. When I was running up MOUNT EVEREST, I told all the people walking up mount Everest to run or get off the mountain. I ran straight to the top and then punched all the walkers on the way down. How dare they walk in my prescence?! Dont they know I'm KING OF THE MOUNTAIN?!?

Sadly your first ableism is thinking there is such a thing as "healthy looking"

But if the people were running on the treadmill, they’d still be on the treadmill and she still wouldn’t be able to go on one? How does whether you walk or run make a difference? I do intervals and I do them over 45 minutes. Do you think people who run on treadmills will be off in 5 minutes? There really is no logic to yours and the OP’s thought process

Some gyms do have a ten minute limit on certain machines, so those who want a quick sprint can do so, and those who want to walk for ages can. This might be a policy you would like, and you could research other gyms in your area.
But I have been the super gym bunny who could outrun most people-and also that person who could hardly manage to put one foot in front of the other, when I'd recently had an operation. Being superfit today doesn't guarantee you won't be the one struggling tomorrow. They might feel safer/warmer being in the gym, just like runners often prefer the treadmills to running outside.
You could join some of the aerobics classes, then you'll get your full workout done without having to wait for anyone.

There’s actually quite a bit of research suggesting that walking and hitting around 10k steps a day can be really effective for fat loss compared to lots of intense cardio. There’s also growing research around how high intensity workouts can affect women’s hormones and how that can show visually on the body, but obviously it’s very individual and depends on the person.

If you’re office based or working from home it can be hard to get steps in, so I often add them in after a heavy weights session. It sounds like you might just be going at a particularly busy time at the moment too and we’re still in the thick of the January gym crowd.

You could always try swapping to the bike or doing some cardio alongside weights during that time so it’s not wasted and still keep running for when it’s quieter.

I think maybe it is less frustrating to share facilities with The Worthy Types.

Oh we soooooo need the laughing response button on this thread

There’s actually quite a bit of research suggesting that walking and hitting around 10k steps a day can be really effective for fat loss compared to lots of intense cardio.

Why do you say "actually"? You know people do cardio exercises for other reasons than fat loss, right? Like...enjoyment and improvement in performance for example.

I’m a treadmill walker. I have no balance function and a history of trapped nerves.

I hope I never encounter you in a gym.

Oh you would hate me, I go on the treadmill for ages and do the hill walk setting, and I normally watch netflix on my phone while I'm doing it 😂

I can't run for very long because of a dodgy knee, and I don't fancy walking around outside in the dark since I stumbled across a bloke wanking behind a tree in the park a couple of years back . But I do like to be active when I can and hitting my step count every day helps keep me motivated.

This is my point better expressed - I think it's a reflection of poor gym etiquette.

Personally I'm mindful of not spending any more time on the treadmill than I need to because they're always so in demand (which includes demand from all sorts of people using them to walk, which is fine by me!) - so I'll hop off and do a cool down on the bike if people are waiting rather than do a cool down jog. If I just wanted to hang out and scroll my phone while doing some light movement I'd use some of the equipment which is less in demand so I could do it without feeling guilty.

Obviously I don't know which if any of the stroll-and-scroll contingent are doing so because slow walking is specifically suitable to their health needs, so I'd certainly never say anything. However, I don't think there's been an epidemic of health issues amongst young women in their teens and twenties that would account for the number of them using the treadmill for slow walking.

18 months later I am still recovering from a ruptured Achilles so yes I walk on the treadmill. YABVU.