Treadmills

[toy]

Well, I said I was overweight, so you're right there. And I'll even agree that I'm lazy and spend too much time on the computer. But I never heard of anyone with the ability to tell by a person's picture that the person was lazy. And I've been accused of a lot of things, but a lack of discipline has never been one of them.

Let's see . . . so far this morning, I've mowed, edged, and trimmed the yard. Then did a little tree pruning and tied a couple of bundles of brush for the garbage men to pick up. Then I hand watered a few tight areas and now came in to cool off after I got the sprinklers going front and back.

And I found it's 2,000 ft. to walk around the block where I live (long block), slightly uphill the first 500'. And I only walked around it 4 times recently, but gosh, that's boring, and besides that, it's HOT!

And what did you do after lunch, just kidding. I don't see the same thing in your picture that chimp saw could you by any chance enlarge it, lol. No what I see is a fellow tbner that sees a need in his life and he asked us for suggestions that he might improve his life. From Byrds posts I see a man that has had some sickness or injury that has caused him to have to slow down his life a bit but I hope he will get to resume full activity soon. Being incapacitated for a while will cause you to pack on the pounds, but of course bananna cream pie or chocolatepie or lemon pie will also. Well I got to go to the kitchen for a while talk to ya later.

 

[Bird]

I appreciate everyone's input. Prices for treadmills seem to just run all over the place; sometimes with little rhyme or reason. Anyway, I just bought this CardioZone Elite Plus HR T Treadmill to be delivered this afternoon. I bought it from Second Hand Sports, but they said they didn't have a used one; just new "scratch & dent" models with a full one year warranty. They also told me it's a last years model that's being discontinued. And they had it plugged in so I could try it out before buying.

Now for what I said about prices. You'll notice in the link they claim retail is $3,200, but they'll sell it to you for $2,395. Well, I paid $399 plus $32.92 sales tax plus $50 delivery fee.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Wow, looks like you did real good!. But, that is one beefy chick in the picture. She would hurt ya'.

 

[tallyho8]

I would like to do a little more exercise a day but I hate to waste my time on an exercise bike. It gets boring and I want to quit before my recommended time is up. I thought of an invention to make it easier to bare, now if someone will just make one.

They need to hook it up to a generator to make electricity to power a tv in front of the bike that shows mystery movies that last the required time of your exercise. If you stop early you miss the end of your suspense movie and it resets so you have to start over. That might keep me going till my time is up so I can find out if the butler really did it.

 

[Bird]

I don't know about the movies, but I do remember seeing on TV once where a fellow had a little generator attached to a stationary bike and a TV so that his children could only watch TV as long as one of them was peddling.

 

[Bird]

I know I'm reviving a rather old thread, but if I can keep anyone else from going through what I've been going through, maybe it'll be worth it. If you've read the earlier posts, you've seen that DocHeb recommended the exercise bike instead of the treadmill, but I wasn't sure why. I bought the treadmill and it was a good one; started out with just one mile at a time on a level surface. I was gradually increasing the distance and incline. I also found a route around my neighborhood that was 1.25 miles in distance. And the nearest shopping mall has a marked .75 mile walking trail. So, depending on weather and my mood at the time, sometimes I walked on the treadmill, occasionally in the mall, and sometimes on the asphalt street.

When I walked more than 3 miles, especially on the hot asphalt, my feet would be a bit hot and tired, but recovered overnight. However, on Sept. 6, I walked that 1.25 mile route 4 times; i.e., 5 miles. The next morning, I could hardly walk; right foot had recovered, but the left one did not. It hurt like the dickens to put any weight on it. I went to the mall and walked that track a couple of times; couldn't work out the soreness. I tried a variety of exercises, but it only got worse. Finally, on Sept. 15, I called and made an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. I thought I must have a bone spur in my left heel (I remember my mother having surgery for that in the early '50s).

Now you may be familiar with Plantar Fasciitis since apparently it's quite common, but I'd never even heard of such a thing. And if you're not familiar with it, I can tell you it's quite painful and you want to avoid it, if possible. So I also learned about something else I'd never heard of; a Formfit Night Splint which I've been using for 4 months now.

Better? Yeah, a little bit. Getting well? Not by a long shot. The orthopedic doctor I saw on Sept. 22 was, shall we say, less than impressive, but I saw another one today that I'd have a lot more confidence in and while I think he gave me much better medication and exercise instructions, he also said to be patient, don't get discouraged, and expect at least another four weeks.

I was going to try to sell the treadmill on craigslist, but my youngest daughter wanted it. Her 40 year old husband, who retired last year after 20 years active duty in the Navy, also has Plantar Fasciitis, but his is in his right foot while mine is the left foot.

 

[studor]

Bird - try physiotherapy with ultrasound -- worked pretty well for me. The bill was a couple of hundred bucks but beats the heck out of feeling like someone drove a nail in your foot . I also used orthotic inserts in my boots.
Regards
Steve

 

[tglass]

Bird, I also have Plantar Fascjitis and tried about everything. Foot specialist, taping,high dollar inserts the specialist sold me, shots in the heal, sonic relief machine, night splint, etc.. Finally I was looking on the internet and found heelspurs.com. They have a powerstep insert they sell. I thought I'de bought every type and brand known to mankind but the pain. I ordered the pinnacle and got to say they didn't look like much till I put them in my boots. You might give them a try, it took alot of pain away from me.

 

[LMTC]

Bird--I was diagnosed with it in the early 80s. Unbelievable pain at times, I mean to the level of putting me down. Treated at first with a physiatrist (a specialty that I think is no more), then most effectively with a super competent podiatrist, who made orthotic inserts for me that cost me around $250 in the early 80s (2 weeks salary), but eventually continued use of them eliminated the pain. I had a 2nd pair made in the mid 90s, and have not used them for probably 5 years now. I don't walk much, but the pain just never came back. I do try to use a recumbent stationery bike as it takes the weight (which I have way too much of) off my knees, back, and feet. We have one from Sears, made by Nordic Track, and really like it.

 

[Bird]

Thanks for the additional information, everyone. I guess everyone gets told to do about the same stretching exercise but most things I've seen say to hold the stretched position for 10, 15, or 20 seconds. My doctor says to hold that stretch for 3 full minutes 3 times a day. The first doctor only looked at an x-ray; didn't even look at my foot at all and told me to get arch supports. The doctor today said I have good arches, and even the cheap sneakers I wear have a built-in arch support, so he said I don't need any kind of arch support; just a gel heel cushion. And he told me to continue wearing the formfit night splint and to take Aleve twice a day. The bottle says one pill and he told me to take 2 at a time which gets you near the prescription strength. Anyway, he told me to try that for 4 weeks steadily and then come back if it isn't better.

Studor, I've read about the ultrasound, but didn't ask the doctor about it. I've also read some pros and cons about cortisone injections.

Tglass, that powerstep insert looks good, but mentions especially if you have flat feet. My doctor says I have good arches and told me to take out the inserts I've been trying and use only a heel cushion.

LMTC, I visited one of the stores for Ideal Feet and I think they have some good orthotic inserts and would have bought them if they'd been one or two hundred dollars (I really think they should be worth about $20), but the con they tried to put on me for about $500 just wasn't going to happen. It's an interesting game they play, though. And of course, if I really thought it would cure this, I'd fork over $500 in a heartbeat.