treadmill

Your Technotronic playlist aside, running on a treadmill is inherently boring because you're stuck in a room running on the same platform. But what if you could switch things up and simulate actual, real-world topography?

The NordicTrack x7i Interactive Incline Trainer, which goes for $2,000, is loaded with Wi-Fi to interface with iFit Live, a fitness database that pulls actual trail and marathon routes from Google Maps (which, though not supported in the limited official workout library at this time, should really include Google Moon). Among the trails that are included: the Delicate Arch Trail at Arches National … Read more

We got our first close look at the AlterG antigravity treadmill at a health expo in San Francisco earlier this year, and at the time, the price was floating up there somewhere near the space station.

But we've good news for those who like the idea of running like an astronaut: Fremont, Calif.-based AlterG on Monday plans to announce a more affordable model, the AlterG M300. The two treadmills in the M300 series deliver the same antigravity technology as AlterG's pricey $75,000 P200 series, but at a third of the cost--$24,500 to $27,000.

Yes, we know that hardly puts the AlterG in the range of the Total Gym, but it does move the device beyond the realm of the sports elite into a bracket accessible to more gyms and physical therapy clinics.

Medical institutions, college athletic programs, and sports teams around the country (including the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Cowboys, and Arizona Diamondbacks) already use the AlterG, but wider distribution could prove beneficial for Parkinson's patients, stroke survivors, and others reporting progress as a result of the technology.

AlterG's antigravity technology was originally developed at NASA and tested at Nike's Oregon Research Project by America's top distance runners.

The treadmill works by pumping air into an enclosure that surrounds users from the waist down. They zip themselves in, and an increase in air pressure lifts them so they can run at a fraction of their actual weight (pressing the up/down arrows on the control panel decreases body weight at increments of 1 percent, as much as 80 percent).

The reduction lowers the impact on joints and muscles to improve training and performance or help provide a smooth recovery from injury or surgery. Speed and incline are adjustable as with any treadmill.

"Removing the physical burden of weight bearing has remarkable results," said Bryan Nadeau of AlterG customer Muir Orthopedic Specialists, located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Paty Shives, 46, is one patient who has seen such results.… Read more

The TrekDesk press release is packed with all sorts of alarming statistics about adult obesity, as well as alluring statistics about the benefits of walking. The combination is designed to make you want one, and want one now, in spite of the product's $479-sans-treadmill price tag.

Why go for a lovely walk outside, or exercise on an ordinary treadmill inside, when you can walk at your desk--without even sweating? It is "Easy to Do" and "Requires No Extra Effort." (The All Caps mean they Really Mean It.)

TrekDesk is by no means the first attempt … Read more

The trend of exercising at the workstation is getting out of hand. Not only will it keep a rising number of employees chained to their desks, but companies apparently are aiming to dump even more work on the rank and file.

The latest reason for concern is the JW Treadmill Desk, a workstation that elevates the concept to yet another level. This torture device can be ordered with a built-in rack for multiple monitors, just in case you already don't have enough things to do at the same time.

AFC Industries, which manufactures the workstation, touts its ergonomic benefits … Read more

When Crave first started seeing workstation fitness machines, we thought they were just a passing novelty. But now we're seriously beginning to wonder--and worry--whether they're actually catching on.

The desk treadmill seems to be the most popular form of office exercise, as evidenced by the "Walkstation" and the "TreadDesk," respectively estimated at $6,500 and up to $4,000. But now they have yet another competitor that may end up being substantially cheaper.

The "TrekDesk" is an alternative to the other all-in-one setups, a universal workstation that instead attaches to a … Read more

I don't think you'll see OK Go dancing on these treadmills any time soon (though, quite honestly, who knows with those guys?) That's because they're built for cars, not people (or cats). Gene Haas, a NASCAR team owner, collaborated with Jacobs Engineering to build WindShear Inc., an indoor road-testing facility that looks like something you'd see at the gym. It has sensors on it that can "read" each wheel, and was designed to eliminate error messages that arise in wind tunnels at high speeds.

See that treadmill belt? It's made of steel. … Read more

The good: Then-obscure indie rock band OK Go hit it big in a creative way--by YouTubing a video of the band members dancing on treadmills.

The bad: Video bloggers and wannabe Web stars have consequently realized that a treadmill is an extremely valuable prop in making the breakout two-minute clip. This has led to many an asinine addition to the YouTube library.

The worst: Home-video rule No. 76 states that it's always funnier when animals do it. As a result, the treadmill video trend on YouTube has now spread to cats. What's with this trend of tormenting felines … Read more