“Never allow children on or around treadmill.”  This is written on the warning sticker on the bottom of my treadmill.  You can see it when the treadmill is in the folded position.

OK… Great… Easier said than done.  Right?

Actually, that doesn’t have to be complicated.  While I thought I would have a problem with that, I never really have.  The treadmill came into the house when my oldest was just a baby so it has always been there.  My children are used to it being there.  They’ve been told since they started moving around that the treadmill was for mommy and that they don’t touch it. 

Am I that naive?  NO!  But I have followed some guidelines which have helped a lot.

• Set boundaries around the treadmill and remind often that crossing those boundaries is forbidden. 
• Always fold your treadmill when not in use.
• Remove the safety key when you’re done.
• Let your kids watch you exercise.
• Give them something else to do.

Those last two may seem like conflicting statements, but they really aren’t.  They go together.  When the kids have the opportunity to watch you exercise, they get used to it and the thrill of that “toy” goes away.  They learn by watching that it is for exercise only.  The “something else to do” keeps them busy, but in sight.

When my children were babies, I always put their basinet or exersaucer near the treadmill when I exercised.  They would watch me for a while and then fall asleep.  I think the sound from the treadmill belt lulled them to sleep.  I would just turn up my walkman when they cried and keep on going.  (You are not a bad mommy if you do this!)

As they grew, I let the television baby-sit.  Shame on me?  No, I don’t think so.  A movie or Sesame Street for the length of time that I exercised certainly wasn’t going to hurt any body.  The benefits of the exercise and the me-time outweighed any negative television affects.  Now they are old enough to entertain themselves (most of the time any way).

Don’t be afraid to have a home treadmill because you have children.  Just be safe and responsible.  Be a role model and demonstrate a healthy lifestyle. 

I was tired. I was cranky. I was stressed. (And apparently a little whiney.) My back was aching.

The chiropractor told me that walking is the best thing to loosen up my back and restore movement, but the LAST thing in the world I felt like doing was getting on my treadmill!

But sometimes, you’ve just gotta do whatcha just gotta do…

I put on my sneakers, stretched a little and started walking. 2.0 MPH to start loosening up my back… 2.5 MPH to warm up some more…. 3.0 MPH… I figured that is where it would stay for the next 30 minutes. After all, I was only walking to get movement in my back.

I started feeling bored. I started thinking about how sick I am of having my back hurt. I started thinking about my weight. I started thinking about every stressful thing going on in my life. I started to get ANGRY!

So, I RAN!!! I cranked my treadmill up to 6 MPH and ran for as long as I could stand it. (It wasn’t very long.) Over the next 30 minutes, I staggered my treadmill speed between 3 and 6 MPH.

Amazing things started to happen! I started feeling better. It was like the stress was being sweat right out of my pores. My thought patterns turned from negative to positive. I went from tired to motivated. I started coming up with new business ideas and stuff like that.

I found it only appropriate for me to share this story. There are just so many benefits to exercise: physical health, mental health… and even business growth!

(Just don’t tell my chiropractor I ran!)

Have I mentioned before how much I love my treadmill? I do. I really do. Treadmills are so versatile. You can walk, jog or run. You can choose what kind of incline you can handle for the day. If you change your mind, it’s as simple as pushing a button. You can exercise while listening to music, while watching TV or just let your mind run empty.

Walking is such a natural exercise too. We’ve all been doing it since we were toddlers. It’s not complicated. It’s not confining. No worrying about the stance width will fit our bodies. No discomfort of a hard seat.

No other exercise or piece of home fitness equipment offers all that a treadmill has to offer. If it weren’t for my treadmill, I’m not sure I would exercise at all. And that is what matters most… That we just do it.

Welcome to the new and improved TREAD THIS . COM website. 

This is NOT at all how I originally intended the website to be.  After starting out trying to promote different types of home treadmills by reviewing all the different features, I figured out that I was in way over my head!  Besides, its been done already… many times. 

So I’ve changed my focus and decided to blog about what I already know and what I learn in the future.

This much I know: 

I love my treadmill!