Treadmill review LifeFitness 95T

Since I've conquered most of what winter has thrown at me on a treadmill, I figured it's time to post a review of my good buddy since I'll be abandoning him/her in the next few weeks (60's!!!). To start, is a treadmill a masculine or feminine? I mean a ship is a she, vehicle's can be both, is a treadmill a she or a he? I use he, but mostly because I'm lazy.

So the treadmill today is the LifeFitness 95T. I think its the engage but w/e they're all pretty close, so I'll take the base model because again its the apartment complex treadmill. First glance it looks like any other treadmill, a deck, armresters and a big screen. This one has the added bonus of being able to show TV(whenever the cables are plugged in) and you can plug and iPod in and/or a USB stick to record the workout, both of which are pretty slick. I personally have used the iPod dock more than once when I forgot to charge it before hitting the gym, so it's definitely functional. More importantly the ride, or run. The features are nice, but the run is what matters.
Pro's: It "rides" smooth, easy to change speed, easy to raise and lower deck, two cupholders, screen deck and little table, speed change is smooth as well. Important to me also is the belt stays tight during the runs so my knee takes it pretty well.

Con's: Speed change can be a little slow at times, the handle bars get slick when sweat gets on them, and the real gripe is the standing area on the side of the deck is incredibly slick when a little wet w/sweat.

All in all I'd recommend this one if you have an option at the gym or one at a hotel, giving it a solid B+, the only thing holding it back from an A is the slippery side rails which could be easily fixed by the manufacturer in the future, add some sandpaper

Surviving the Wheel

Hello y'all, I run on a wheel..but I'm a lot less fuzzy than my buddy over to the right here. Also technically I'm on the outside of the wheel but hey, details smetails. It's not by choice I'm on it this much, but more by location and the random hours I end up working by being on the road all the time. Being that it's a frequent occurrence I've come up with a few methods to survive a long run on the wheel of PAIN(ok boredom).

1. Do not use headphones, unless you don't sweat. Being that you're indoors they'll fuzz up and slip off, destroying your mojo. Most hotels have a radio now that works with an iPod or other mp3 player, just take the whole radio down with you.
2. TV, always put it on, I also jealously guard the remote because I'm too antsy and like to change the channels frequently, to try and fool myself into new scenery.
3. Towels, always bring one...worst case it gives you something to play with.
4. Something to read, during any runs on the wheel over 50 minutes i need a break so I'll bring a magazine to read for a bit while walking in order to break the monotony.
   
5. Always wear proper gear, no one wants to run with a fat sweaty guy on the wheel next to them, I usually am that fat sweaty guy.
6. Don't be lazy, set the rise at 0.5% min, and raise and lower it as you want, you're not outdoors, so make it a challenge.
7. My Hotel Brands Rankings for treadmill quality, if you have a choice...Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Marriott
   

So it's not a complete list, it will grow and is by no means a way to support going outside, but it happens. Enjoy your runs and the wheel, I'm hoping to be outside tomorrow

Grok Sprints

Since I'm stuck on a treadmill here, due to the excellent(sic) location here at night, I've been getting creative in the runs, mainly to make it interesting. As I've said before, needlessly, running on a treadmill gets boring. This all brings me to tonights workout, sprints...barefoot. I figure even though its on a treadmill, I can still call them Grok Sprints in spirit.

The workout's pretty simple, I do a minute at 4 mph, then the next at 10mph; one at 4 then one at 10.5, ramping to the max speed. Following that, I just go until I'm tired and feel like I'm done. Pretty simple, but it turned into a solid 30 minute workout, 3.2 miles down and its great.

Treadmill review: Matrix T5x

As promised; upon day 2 on the treadmill here I'm writing a review. By day 2, I'm referring to the second day of many in a row because the suns going down to early here, so I've been on this treadmill before and know the ins and outs. I'm currently at the Staybridge Suites in Corpus Christi and they have the Matrix T5x treadmill.

The T5x is a newer treadmill, at least based upon my recent hotel experience, and the one here still has the feel of a newer piece of equipment. The link above shows the stats on it, basically standard for any treadmill nowadays, 0-15% grade and 0-12mph, nothing to exciting. The unit here has a very tight belt, and a stable deck so there's not a lot of rattle when I'm running on it flat or while running and adjusting the height. The user interface is a little confusing at first but you can navigate the options easily.

For my test I covered two workouts, the first was a longer run/jog to wake my body up that I usually do on Monday and then a speed workout the second day, both of which cover most of the functionality.

Pros

• The belt didn't slip at all during the long run, or the speed workout(1 min walk, 1 min 9.5mph+ and repeat 15 times). For me this is a huge plus because I run heavy when I get tired
• Speed adjustment can be keyed in on the keypad by your right hand
• Comfortable run, the deck went up and down easily without much noise.

Cons

• The E-Stop button is among the worst placed, it's dead center of the heart rate guard, so when you speed up sometimes you'll bump it. I did this once in the long run
• If you do not change the time BEFORE you start your workout, you're stuck at a sudden shut-down at 20 minutes, this may have a fix but I haven't found the command yet.

Grade: B - that estop is really annoying
Overall though it was a pleasant run, I'd still prefer to be outside but the hours I'm working now are not encouraging it so I'm going to be on this puppy for a while.

Daylight Savings

I woke up this morning for the start of my yearly attempt to run in the morning during winter because I can go in a little later and hopefully avoid the treadmill. I did a nice primal workout consisting of sprints and felt great, only 5 for 30 seconds and 5 more for a minute, so more middle distance speed work, but still speed work and felt great. So daylight savings started out well....

Unfortunately I forgot that the sun goes down earlier, the same yearly defeat that place me on the treadmill tonight. Usually I'd venture out but there have been some local law enforcement problems near the hotel I'm staying at so it looks like it's treadmill time. In honor of every runners hated/loved device I'm going to put a few posts on hotel chains and which running aids they have; because I'm picky. So that'll be the theme as well as how to get a good run without being bored; which thanks to baseball I was able to put a solid 5 miles in without a problem.