Loved by many gym bunnies as a great way to burn calories fast, it has always been the case that the potential for muscle damage or strain from using them has been sufficiently high to be of concern to regular users and gym owners alike.
Now Reebok Fitness has come up with a novel and impressive solution, which involves using technology from sports motorcycles to lessen the impact of the treadmill on the lower areas of the body and thus increase the overall effectiveness of using one for fitness.
Swing arm system
The swing arm shock absorption system of Reebok’s treadmill is designed to minimize the impact on the knees and leg joints of running and walking, which will especially benefit users with a history of lower back pain, knee issues, or shin splints.
Using the swing arm absorption system, instead of the impact of each footfall on the treadmill being sent back through the body, it is instead dispersed through the frame, deck, and swing-arm of the treadmill. This helps create a much smoother running or walking motion, which has vastly less negative impact on the body whilst still maintaining all of the health and calorie-burning traits of a traditional treadmill.
The unique design of this treadmill still allows for the running necessities of a soft landing at the front of the running belt, whilst also having the ability to facilitate a firm push-off at the back of the belt, therefore relieving pressure and stress on lower body joints, tendons and muscles and avoiding common running injuries.
Cutting out the double spike
Using the swing arm shock absorption system eliminates the double spike impact. With a normal treadmill, runners will experience a two-pronged impact strike, with the first one of medium intensity being followed by a longer, tougher one, which has a higher overall force. Using Reebok’s new treadmill, this is changed to one single impact, with a slightly longer but lower intensity spike creating an overall lower force.
Burn More Calories
Excitingly, as well as being better for joints, the swing arm suspension treadmill has also been proven to increase the number of calories burned, versus a standard treadmill, of between 14 and 23 percent. This is because the swing arm treadmill produces a lower peak intensity but longer muscle contraction than traditional treadmills, which do just the opposite.
So a key benefit of the swing arm cushioned deck, as opposed to more traditional cushioned decks, is to boost fat burning, as low-intensity exercise over a longer period of time is more desirable in fat burning routines.
With the swing arm absorption system, this results in up to 23 percent more calories burned each and every session. Combined with the lessening of stress on the lower joints, these are two persuasive arguments in favor of using this new revolution in treadmills.