The earliest Treadmills date back as far as 1875, but it wasn't until the 1950s that they actually began to get utilised by humans. Up until the 1920s, they were designed only to be operated by animals, making production more effective for contraptions like butter churns, wheels, and water pumps. It was when they began to infiltrate factory floors as conveyer belts - used to transport parts and products easily - that they began to get noticed.
First Treadmills
The first Treadmill developed for use by humans was conceived as a stress test, assisting doctors at the time detect potential heart problems. It didn't take long for investors and business types to work out that the Treadmill could be used as a commercially viable product, to allow exercise in the household and at the gym, and so the modern Treadmill was born.
Treadmills became an icon of futuristic living, parodied in science fiction pop culture as a method to alleviate the inconveniences walking to get from place to place creates. As we move towards the future allowing machines to do more and more for us, the Treadmill - or conveyer belt in this sense - epitomises this. It is interesting then that we now use Treadmills more than ever to keep healthy, and that keeping weight off is now a fashionable thing to do.
Treadmills of Today
Treadmills have progressed a lot since their conception; it's now not too difficult to find a Cheap Treadmill jam-packed with special features and built-in training programmes. Tunturi, now a well-known and reputed global manufacturer of Treadmills and Fitness Equipment, began as a bicycle-making business in Finland.
Treadmill Features
Some of the features modern Treadmills use include MP3 functionality, allowing you to plug in your MP3 Player and listen whilst you workout, through built-in speakers. Integrated fans are also designed to keep Treadmill operators cool during their training. On top of these luxurious comforts included are various technologies designed to actually aid and support the user's workout, such as orthopaedic belts or shock-absorbing running decks. Varying speeds allow you to challenge yourself and open the Treadmill up to any level of fitness. Storage has also become easier as technology advances, and they are now highly accessible and affordable.
The Future of Treadmills
Emerging technologies are making the prospects of Treadmills all the more exciting. Anti Gravity Treadmills allow the user to workout inside a pressurised bubble that surrounds their body from the waist down, giving the sensation of running or walking through water. This kind of Treadmill would be advantageous for those undergoing rejuvenative physiotheraphy or who have joint issues. Vertical Treadmills are also in development, which will let you climb up walls whilst remaining stationary and supported. Knobs grafted on to the Treadmill belt will let you grapple your way up, and, to top it all off, you give yourself a full body workout!
Treadmills have shaped and will continue to change the way we live, and, as the world gets busier - and fatter - and the chance of taking to the stars becomes more apparent, they've never been more relevant.
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