Treadmill Thoughts

I just came from The Star's gym where I sweated over a bike in spin class for -- cough-cough -- can I say 35 minutes? In front of me was a line of fit joggers whirling on the treadmills.
Now, I'm a big runner most of the time. (Do I admit here that I'm actually 7 months pregnant? So right now, the only jogging I'm doing is for a seat on the subway. Which I rarely get. But that's another rant...) But I've always had a thing against treadmills.
They seem to me like a symbol of our wasteful consumption. And totally contradictory -- like taking an elevator to the gym to spend 30 minutes on the Stairmaster.
So I did a little research. It turns out (according to Treadmills USA) that the average treadmill uses around 1500 watts -- the equivalent of 15 of those old-fashioned light bulbs we've all chucked this week. So, over 30 minutes, you use .75 kilowatt-hours (logic= 1.5 kw x 0.5 hours) -- the same amount you'd use to light up your Christmas tree for six hours. (To check out the amount of electricity you use for appliances, check here.)

According to the Energy Star website, there is no such thing as an Energy Star treadmill. It's called running outside.

-- Catherine Porter

Comments

[Melissa]

It's is these types of contradictory behaviours that have me hankering for oil to reach $500 a barrel or even more! Then perhaps some of the more ridiculous behaviours will change (not just the human treadmills, but the doggy treadmills too)

There is a site called why not? where people debate treadmill energy recapture......there's also some company in the US to have released the word's first "truly green treadmill"
http://www.sportsartamerica.com/SAF/aboutus/press_releases/SportsArt_Intros_EcoPowr.pdf

Then in the UK, The Pacesetters Project aims to install the world's first human-energy-harvesting staircase next year
(as long as there is no elevator in the building....)

It's all well and good to expouse technology where sidewalks can harness energy by pedestrians, but let's not forget it requires energy to develop all these things too !

Melissa

[Dan Theade]

Tired of wasting energy when you exercise. Here's a great new piece of exercise equipment, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdvcsX9YIzo

It's called the Streetstrider. You do the same motion as the elliptical trainer in the gym but you get to experience the outdoors.

So no more need to calculate how many light bulbs your exercise equipment use is equivalent to.

Get outside and stride. Streetstrider.

[JohnO]

Ed Begley Jr. always maintains the electrical current exercise equipment flows the wrong way. Looks like you and he are absolutely right.

Good post ... I'm going to use it for the sustainability tip in my company newsletter!

[chelsea saldanha]

i go to the gym fairly often. in fact the family i live with has bought a treadmill last week and tomorrow was the day i would start using it. i feel horrible for using the treadmill at the college gym but come tomorrow thats all going to change!

thanks for the update :)

[Ben Brown]

I read an article about a gym that discounted members who used the gym's energy generating treadmill. Now that sounds better than simply using a treadmill than doesn't use electricity!

[heather]

There's childcare available at the gym but not when you run outside. That reason alone is enough to make me use a treadmill. And I find the calorie count and computerized analysis more motivating than the outdoors. To each their own.

[Hari Narayanan]

My 10 year old son is able to run on our regular treadmill without turning on the power. I know there are manual treadmills that don't have motor. Why not have a treadmill with a battery and dynamo so that when used in manual mode, the motor does not run and instead the dynamo charges the battery. This battery could power on-board diagnostics as well as run the motor for someone else who might feel the need. Effectively, other than a starting charge, this treadmill should be able to function without being connected to a power source.