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Recently, Elizabeth Ewens was in the middle of an intense workout. Her coach told her to start, so she did and was encouraged by another runner. She finished the training session by feeling good.
Ewens' evening training resembles what the world's runners do several evenings a week, but she was at home, transmitting a live treadmill class, with a motivational instructor, music and dashboard, on a screen on the screen.
"Sometimes you know you're not going to motivate yourself during a workout and you need someone to set the bar for you," says the California lawyer. 49 years.
The old boring workout on treadmills has a present moment.
For most runners and athletes, the treadmill is a necessary evil. It's an easy (and safe) way to start your workout when it's dark outside or the weather is not ideal. For Ewens, above-average winter precipitation in northern California forced it to remain in the interior. But the combination of new technologies and treadmill courses offered by many gyms has given the machine a new lease of life.
According to ClassPass year-end data, a service that links people to fitness studios and gyms, treadmill classes have been the fastest growing trend in 2018 among its users.
From on-demand and group-based workouts to virtual worlds with simulated classes, companies have given the most boring cardio machine an indispensable metamorphosis, though group cycling studios and spinning classes have revolutionized cycling for athletes. Treadmill studios, such as Stride in Pasadena, Calif., And Equinox's independent studio Precision Run Studio, have appeared across the country, and companies such as Peloton, iFit and Zwift welcome dedicated fans with virtual classes at home, mainly via apps.
"This old-school device is becoming a new school," says Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, associate professor of history at the New School in New York, who is writing a book on fitness culture. "With all the innovations that are happening, it can be part of the forefront of culture and exercise programming."
"This has been an incredible addition to my workouts," said Ewens. Even though the weather has improved, she continues to incorporate virtual home race courses into her routine.
The old & dreadmill & # 39;
There is a good reason for treadmills to be nicknamed "dreadmill".
According to Mehlman Petrzela, the cardio device had been used originally for acts of torture. British prisoners were forced to walk on the treadmill to pump water and be punished in the 18th and 19th centuries. (According to British literature professor Vybarr Cregan-Reid, Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde would have walked up to six hours a day for six hours a day on a treadmill.
It was not until the 1970s that the treadmill gained its reputation as a fitness machine from the start of the running explosion, explains Mehlman Petrzela. Since then, the treadmill has been a reliable, albeit dull, pillar in the gyms.
A perfect storm led to the recent resurgence of the treadmill.
The fitness industry is booming as more and more people are focusing on health. Running is effective – and it can be done quickly at home. While most treadmills have always provided time, mileage and often calorie measurements, the new machines offer more granular data, allowing users to read everything from heart rate to fractional kilometers to cadence and "power". treadmill gives you feedback, "says Mehlman Petrzela.
In treadmill classes, a trainer or running leader takes advantage of all the new data to create a demanding and interesting workout that most people would not do or do not do themselves. For example, during a recent Peloton course, instructors guided runners through a series of rapid intervals and rolling hills, telling them when to adjust the speed and incline of the treadmill while providing guidance. on the level of effort and tricks for running a pumping playlist.
The instructors sometimes define intervals (fast run over a short distance) around the one-minute personal record of the specific runner, the fastest pace a runner can follow for one minute. Riders are then asked to adjust the speed and incline of the treadmill according to this rhythm. "We're lightening the workload," says Rebecca Kennedy, an instructor at Peloton.
This is the main reason James Macdonald, 25, has become a staunch supporter of the Mile High Run Club, a treadmill boutique in New York. "I'm so used to running outside that I did not think I would like it, but I really appreciate it," he says. "It's a good workout. I do not have to worry about things like music. "
Streaming streaming programs at home and in the studio offer hundreds of different workouts, which can be more interesting than clicking kilometers while watching television in a gym.
High tech treadmills are expensive.
Peloton's Tread, which provides access to eight live classes per day and thousands of pre-scheduled workouts, costs $ 4,295. NordicTrack treadmills range from $ 1,799 to $ 2,699. For those who prefer only audio (and a lower price), Aaptiv offers running workouts via its app, where coaches bring riders to follow a workout on their own mats. run for a monthly subscription of $ 14.99.
For application-based programs, runners report them on the phone or on a tablet and hold them on their treadmills, or pass them on to a home TV if it has the capacity. Runners hear and see the instructor play motivational music.
A social bond
Beyond the high-tech equipment, many gyms state that the secret of the growing popularity of virtual and real treadmill classes depends less on the distance traveled, but the conversion of an often solitary act into one. fellowship, energy and race group or race competition.
Cynthia Steele, 45, a producer of live events and concerts in Germantown, Maryland, enjoys running with friends but can not always organize such races to fit into her schedule.
Recently, she started using Zwift Run to make the exercise less lonely. With a footpod or smart shoe that transmits to the app, Steele's Avatar appears on the screen. She can see others and run beside them using the app at the same time or join a group race.
Runners can send each other messages and send encouragement in real time. Zwift essentially plays the sport of running. "It sounds like a video game," says Steele. "You gain different levels and can unlock different outfits [for your avatar]. Sometimes I prefer to run down rather than go out because it makes me want to go to the next level. "
As in the open air, running on a treadmill with a group, whether in person in a classroom or virtually, can fly miles. Treadmill studios and continuous workouts allow a group of diverse runners with different levels of fitness to run together. There are no latecomers or runners too fast.
"Everyone starts and ends together. It's the energy and momentum of a group of people who do not feel left out or belonging, "said Rich Velazquez, director of operations for the Mile High Run Club.
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