Sometimes life's like a treadmill

[K1JJ]

Picked up a treadmill two weeks ago.  It took about 30 minutes to train Yaz to use it. He gets on it three times a day and seems to look forward to the extra exercise.

In general, exercise can be a PIA, but I've found this motorized treadmill to be fun. It's the best cardio, low impact workout I've come across. Wish I'd thought of it years ago. It's easy to jump on and continue to do other stuff like talking on the phone, listening to music, etc.   Three robust 10 minute sessions per day seems to do it.

BTW, I found this unit in the local ads. It's a strappingly built machine from the mid-90's that is sometimes found in gyms. I took it apart, cleaned and oiled it, and works FB.  The original cost was about $1500, but paid only $30 cuz it had some minor issues, easily fixed.

So, if you hear me breathing heavily on the air, it's not what you think...  

T

[W2PFY]

Is the output hooked up to a radio?

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Please don't become a treadmill video icon like these winners:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mkkEIAPGxc

[W2VW]

Funny Tom. I have the exact same model.

Bought it for the ex XYL 20 years ago after the kids.

I used to call it the coat rack because that's how it was utilized for a long time.

Dusted it off 2 years ago when getting in shape for the beach.

Was doing 45 mins a day while watching Jimmy Fallon reruns.

Burnt the motor out because I didn't change brushes when it put up the white flag.

I retrofitted a giant strapping DC motor in it's place. The controller ran it fine after the addition of a large electrolytic across the line.

[WA3VJB]

Notice Tom has NOT said he's actually been on it.

Only the dog.


SLACKER !

Let the sleeping dog lie.

[W1RKW]

Tom,
I use a treadmill as well and do about 40 minutes on it.  It's a good work out. Though using it bothers my knees.  I haven't figure out why. I can walk up and down my street for the same amount of time and not be bothered.  I have since gotten bored of walking and bought one of these machines: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/sport/3_series/3700_disc/#

This is my new years resolution, taking up bike riding.  I've been riding now for a little over a month out in Salmon River State Forest and can't stop.  This winter being as mild as it has been has been great for bike riding.  And as far as cardio goes, it's as good if not better.  I love being able to cover lots of territory, get the cardio and enjoy a sport I loved so much when I was younger.  And riding has not bothered my knees at all.  I haven't been on the treadmill since getting the bike but I'm hoping with days were it's not conducive to riding that the knee pain will be minimal when using the treadmill.   Tomorrow is my first time to go out with a bunch of friends who are seasoned mountain bike riders and tearing up the woods down in the Nehantic State Forest.  I'll be the one way in the back! Should be fun.

[K1JJ]

Pete, that guy who fell and skinned his head on the ramp must have a permanent bald spot... gawd.  What a bunch of nut cases.    There's a rip-cord that connects to a kill switch and to the shirt that prevents those kinds of disasters.

Paul, Yaz waits for me to finish and then hops on. It's fun to watch him adjust his gait as I speed up and lower the ramp speed.   Both on at the same time is a disaster waiting to happen....

Bob, I really want to get back into biking. That $500 bike on the website you have looks like a good deal.  The only problem is I can't take Yaz - or if I did, there is risk of injury as he runs with the bike.  I'll have to limit it to kayaking together, I guess.   Yes, the Salmon River state park is one of my favorites too. The trail to Day pond from the bridge is pretty cool.

Dave, I saw the servo motor in there and it is a HD 2.5 HP unit. Interesting that you replaced it with the DC motor.   I hate to think about getting a new ramp belt. I spray on silicon every 10 hours or so.

Terry, I think the motor takes more power than the person puts in, so looks like Yaz will not be doing any rat duty.

You'd think I'd know how to spell exercise [excercise, exorcise]  by now.

T

[KM1H]

My son drags me to Golds once a week whether I want to or not , he goes daily and could kick my ass with one hand and I aint no 90# weakling.

[K5IIA]

nice pic tom..  that is awesome the dog can get on it too. be good for days when you cant get out.

[KB2WIG]

I usda wate util the XYL got on her treadmill..  its an iFIT.....   Its not RF proof.  Lots of hi hi  keying the mic and having it go faster. 


klc   

[flintstone mop]

The elliptical bike is a little easier on the joints and knees.
I go to the Y-M-C-A three to four times a week and spend most time on cardiovascular and some lifting.
Keeping the sugar and cholesterol in check

Good move Tom, gotta guard your health.
Fred

[W1RKW]

Hey T, how does your treadmill fare for RFI.  Mine is a POS.  I've tried all sorts of stuff to shut the thing up.  It's so bad it'll kill my wireless network, weather sensors and basically kill the ham bands all the way up through 10m.

[WA3VJB]

I hate to think about getting a new ramp belt. I spray on silcon every 10 hours or so.

Many of the premium treadmills are sold with a lifetime warranty, at least ours is.  

Includes maintenance items like the deck belt.  Been running on ours (well, Pam has) for about 10 years now, and it shows little signs of wear, even on the edges.  Course she's 5'2" @100# not a lunk like me or these dogs, but still, she's on it for 30-40mins ramped up and speeding.

I was more worried about the master board in there. Lots of chips.  They offered, free on request, an RFI module that hangs across the AC line terminals to the motor. Cut hash.  We have a spike protector on there too..  

Also was worried what might happen with strong RF nearby if I were on, but we tested it and there's no effect, 160, 80, 40 & 10M.

[K1JJ]

Bob,  yep, I just tested the treadmill for RFI and it is S9+15 on 75M.  It's coming from the servo motor or perhaps the servo controller board which might be an SCR or something like that.   No problem, since it's used when I'm off the air anyway.

Maybe adding an RFI module across the AC lines will help as you suggested, Paul.  Have you tired putting the dogs on your treadmill?  I found it was easy to train Yaz once I put his lease on and kneeled in front so he can see me. Start slowly and keep the session short to 10 seconds at first so he sees he can get on and off easily.  I put a sofa/cushions behind the ramp so that if he goes off, it's a non-event. He needs to fall off a few times to overcome the fear and see it's no big deal.  After the first day of training, Yaz thought nothing of climbing on and waiting for me to start it up...  

Fred, I haven't noticed any problems with my kness, though I mix up the training and run outside 2-3 times a day and do the ramp in three 10 minute sessions. I'm not sure what about the treadmill hurts the knees compared to real walking, but I've heard this before.

T

[WA3VJB]

The butterscotch lab loves the treadmill.  We only use it in the worst weather to drain some energy off him, because the hikes in the woods that we otherwise take are best for all of us. Started him off the same sort of way -- get in front, peer through the rails, have the leash up and over the console, real loose and go slow.  The white lab is more reluctant. A rescue lab, he came to us with hip dysplasia and doesn't really have a lot of hind-end strength. So we don't chance it with him.

This discussion reminded me I haven't taken the shop vac to it in a while.  Pulled the cover, shot some shots for you.  The module was just a terminal block before I asked for it.  I guess across the number of them sold, they save a bit of per-unit cost NOT including it.

[K1JJ]

Yep, looks like a standard low pass filter from the schematic. 2.8mh and 1 ufd to pass AC only.    Whatever does the job.  I'll try some bypass caps first, to see if it helps.


There's a few good dog treadmill videos on YouTube too.


Yaz sometimes likes to train with his favorite security toy in-mouth:

T

[W2VW]

Proform is next to the Atwater Kent 55.

If there's nothing on TV I'll tune into my AM broadcast real estate transmitter hooked to the board downstairs. The treadmill took a lot of work to get out of the AM broadcast band but it was not all that bad into the higher bands.

[WBear2GCR]

Oh crud. Now I feel like a slacker...

How the heck do you guys not get bored to tears on them?
My problem is that I have zip motivation for them.
Before I had back problems, I was a rather strong club tennis player, I could chase that stupid ball for hours, no problem. But walking on a treadmill? Snore.

Inside bike? Snore. Used to ride a bike everywhere in my 20s, but outside.

Sure, I know I need to do stuff like this, but I am a slacker at heart. Which is NOT good when it comes to things like this at all. The best I have been able to do is to put on some music, that helps somewhat. But not really that much.

Help me please!

                Signed,

                 Lazy Slacker

[KB2WIG]

"  Oh crud. Now I feel like a slacker... "

as well you should .... ..

   whatt I do is flick on the idiot box and use the eliptical for  1/2 hour.  watch the news or weather or some other garbage to kill the time. Or maybee you can hook up a monitor and surf da web.

I've found that the xyl leaves me alone when I'm on it..... I've lost 45# in the last 16 months, so there is value in it.


klc

[K1JJ]

Congrats on losing 45 pounds, KLC!

I think the trick to staying with the treadmill is to keep the sessions short, but strenuous.   I have the ramp set in a steep incline to make it more difficult, thus needing less time on the treadmill.     Just three, ten minute sessions a day is plenty enough to feel the difference.

Yes, it can get boring, but it's more boring when sitting on my ass wishing I weighed less....    I've dropped about 25 pounds in the last 5 months to 178 pounds at present.  Mostly from better diet and running outside every day.  Maybe 5 pounds more and I'm ready to be a stud warrior again, caw mawn.

Had a stress test last month and the doctor said that exercise can fix MOST medical problems. We especially need it after 55 years of age.  Things like overweight, diabetes, weak muscles and bones, lungs, heart and other health issues disappear when we do a vigorous cardio workout each day. I believe him.


T

[W1RKW]

Since getting the mountain bike last month I've lost 12 lbs., 3 of which I dropped this weekend with a 2 hour strenuous ride through Nehantic State Forest with a buddy.  That was killer ride but exciting as heck.  My buddy set some of the pace. Rode down some trails, both easy and hairy trails. Reward was to discover some historical sights in the middle of nowhere.  Came across some old stone foundations as some rest points.  We sat for a few minutes to wonder the history behind them.  Very interesting to see this stuff. Was well worth the effort.  Did a 30 minute ride today through Salmon River.  Riding is an addictive adrenaline rush.

Had a stress test last month and the doctor said that excercise can fix MOST medical problems. We especially need it after 55 years of age.  Things like overweight, diabetes, weak muscles and bones, lungs, heart and other health issues disappear when we do a vigorous cardio workout each day. I believe him.

T

Exercise is good for the mind and psyche too. 

[W2VW]

Try tuning the ham bands looking for experts only seen on the internetz. That should make the time fly. Let me know what you find.

Oh crud. Now I feel like a slacker...

How the heck do you guys not get bored to tears on them?
My problem is that I have zip motivation for them.
Before I had back problems, I was a rather strong club tennis player, I could chase that stupid ball for hours, no problem. But walking on a treadmill? Snore.

Inside bike? Snore. Used to ride a bike everywhere in my 20s, but outside.

Sure, I know I need to do stuff like this, but I am a slacker at heart. Which is NOT good when it comes to things like this at all. The best I have been able to do is to put on some music, that helps somewhat. But not really that much.

Help me please!

                Signed,

                 Lazy Slacker

[W1DAN]

Tom:

Congrats on the treadmill. It is cool that Yaz gets into it!

Due to high cholesterol and being overweight I joined a gym in early January. I eat better and am already down 15 pounds. I feel better, can now climb stairs without effort and most surprisingly, my thinking has improved (I can come up with solutions to technical difficulties much faster). I am now accomplishing more in a day and am sleeping better. My posture is better, and I feel better after each workout and for the next day.

This is with just 15 pounds loss. My goal is another 15 pounds.

Being a lazy lard-a$$ and seeing the results, I now highly suggest this to everyone. It takes dedication and time, but once you see the years that eating bad American food had done to us, we really need to make an effort to eat better and actively over-compensate for the years of this easy to get food. This is my new concentration (more than ham radio) and will allow me to work better and have more fun easier.

I use an MP3 player to listen to my favorite music to pass the time. It is not boring, and I feel I am accomplishing something every time I work out. It is an avenue to help me accomplish other things in my life such as work and ham radio.

I will not allow myself to become an old ham riding around hamfests in an electric vehicle breathing on oxygen!

Dan

[K1JJ]

Cool on losing 15 pounds there, Dan!

Yep, there are so many benefits including the thinking and attitude part of it.  I also find the exercise to be fun in a challenging way. I got a new digital scale and it's a reward to watch it change.


Bob/RKW turned me onto  Doggie Trailers.  I might pick up a mountain bike and get one of these "Hound-About" trailers.  There's a side leash assembly for running and then Yaz can hop in the back of the trailer when tired.  This is a great idea and will get me out there biking again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSpFzvGSW1I&feature=related


T

[W1RKW]

Tom,
If you decide you want  a mtn bike, PM or email me. I have one that I had tuned up at the bike shop recently for Liz but she doesn't like it and I'm thinking of unloading it and getting her something else.  I think you and I are both about the same size so it might be a good fit for you if you're interested.