Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comGoing to the gym in January is like going to the mall on Black Friday, to the bar on New Year's Eve: It's amateur hour. And, as they say, sometimes what you don't know can hurt you. Or at least really, really embarrass you.
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Ha Ha! I do not feel bad about people getting injured at the gym. Not to mention, most gyms are disgusting anyway. I'll stick with jogging, push ups, and sit ups!!!
I had a bad fall while jogging about 10 years ago. Tripped over a crack in the pavement (on a running path) and I didn't get my hands up fast enough to protect my head, so I ended up with a skull fracture, broken orbit, and most of the skin on that side of my face scraped off. You could even see my eyeball thru the hole in my eyelid. I haven't yet had a treadmill accident, but I suspect my injuries would be less severe.
lol..more excuses for losers to not work out...stay fat and stupid America.
Jogging outside is far more perilous than a gym -- you've got cars to contend with! And I would never go to a gym that I found disgusting. Most gyms today are in fact very clean and well maintained. It is a very competitive industry.
And I now avoid the treadmill not because I had an embarrasing fall, but because excessive running several years ago gave me plantar fasciitus. My doctor recommended trying the elliptical machine, and I've been using it ever since, and I believe it actually gives a better workout (you can up the resistance) and causes less injuries and less knee/ankle damage.
Regardless, this study shows the number of injuries to be quite small compared to the numbers of people getting diabetes and heart disease by NOT working out.
I watched a college kid nearly shatter his jaw a few months ago. He was a short guy who got on one of those negative weight pullup-dip machines. You adjust them so that you pull up less than your weight by whatever the counter-weight is set to.
He had it set so that he was pulling up maybe 20 pounds of his own weight. Then he stepped off while it was all the way at the bottom. BANG! The shelf you stand on for that came flying up and stopped about 1/2" from the bottom of his chin. He did it again, and the head trainer at the gym came over and asked him to come in the office.
I've never liked treadmills--they always remind me of George Jetson and his dog Astro.
I remember when i was in school and saw pride go right after the fall.
I can't believe mature people acting like that after they hurt themselves. don't people realize, they may need SOME education before they do something that they have never done before?
I think that beginners choose the treadmill because they think all they have to do is walk on it; therefore, believe they need no special instruction.
what special instruction do you need to walk on a treadmill?? its not brain surgery, if your to stupid to walk on a treadmill safely you shouldn't be there, and should probably refrain from breeding and passing on a lack of common sense.
Some instruction is needed to understand how to safely get off the machine if you really need it - a little practice about holding up your body weight on the handles and stepping on the side if you get in trouble. That instruction should include recommendations against loading up the machine with your personal belongings, such as wallet, towel, cell phone of water bottle, which ultimately find a way to shake off and fall on the treadmill.
The instruction should also include not to walk on the treadmill while yakking on the cellphone. A mysterious knockout punch may appear from nowhere.
I prefer the cross-trainers. Better workout and you won't go flying. I see people go flying all the time, and this is in a university gym. Crank it up to a high speed and all it takes is an instant's inattention and "WHAM!" It's really easy to happen.
As usual, I read the same poor judgments by so many. I have a "bad" leg--screws, pins, surgeries, you name it. It was an injury incurred just by slipping in the snow. I can't walk on a treadmill because one leg won't move as fast as the other, and treadmills are consistent with their pace. Arthritis has set in so badly that I require medication to just walk on the track. I do the walk, but not near as fast or as far as so many others, and I get really strange looks, but I do it. Am I skinny? No, but not huge either. (Actually, by just looking at me, you would never know what the problems are. You would just think I'm a large, older woman. I keep the legs covered so you don't see all the scars, swelling and deformations.) Upper body workouts on stationary machines can only do so much. So before judging others, as so many in these forums do, please remember that not everyone is so fortunate to have perfect health of all their parts. I do watch my diet, I do what I can to workout, and I'm active in my life. I see a wheelchair in my not-to-distant future, but I keep trying to push it away. I guess my point is: don't judge others so quickly, until you have walked a mile in our/their mocassins.
BTW, I have never been injured at the gym, and before my injury I did everything from BASE jumping to rappelling to cave diving. I wasn't hurt there, either. I was injured while I was just walking to work and fell on an icy spot.
One last point, my doctor wants, for his own, my blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood counts, sugar levels, etc. My general bloodwork says I am the picture of health--and I am literally, one step away from being wheelchair bound.
I've always used treadmills without incident; but I recently started forgoing the gym in favor of fresh air and I've had my share of spills in the last two months. The treadmill has a soft, even surface and sidewalks do not. I've got a mildly bruised ego and a rotating supply of road rash scabs on my right knee. Clumsiness can strike anywhere, anytime.
Treadmills are good for enforcing particular running speeds. But the constrained space and forced motion causes you to get good at running on treadmills and not as good at running elsewhere.
It's good to do pushups and strengthen your arms so you can catch yourself properly. Also practice Swedish falls. That's where you fall forward and catch yourself on your hands.
I was out hiking, and we started running down a stretch we've done many times before,tripped. Caught myself on my hands in a Swedish fall without touching my face to the ground. Bounced right back up.
I've never been injured at the gym, but I always think about it when I do interval training on the treadmill. Sometimes the "reduce speed" buttons are slower than I'd like :)
To any new exercisers here: Welcome to the world of fitness! Please stay past January- you won't regret it. Most people are too focused on their own workouts (or the TV or their iPod or the scenery or the cute boy/girl they are flirting with) to notice what you are doing. Take it slow, and don't measure yourself against others. Measure your own progress, and you will be amazed what you can accomplish.
I did this once. At the end of my last interval a lady walked up to the side of the treadmill and informed me that it was her turn in 5 minutes. Tired and in a trance I turned to look at her and immediately flew off the end at nearly 12 mph (5:20 pace). Luckily there was nothing behind me and I landed face down about 5 feet away. My only injury was a bruised ego (:
As the article suggests, a lot, if not most, of these accidents are due to inattention. Which our culture increasingly encourages. People are everywhere but where they really are. Look down on the "meat world" too much and it will eventually bite you in your big meaty butt.
The article states that "Treadmills cause more injuries than any other...". Treadmills don't cause injury, people cause injury. She goes on to state the stupid things that people do to injure themselves WITH a treadmill. It should have been stated "People harm themselves with treadmills more than with any other type of gym equipment".
"Treadmills don't cause injury, people cause injury" And we know, "Guns don't kill people....." But no one can deny that, without treadmills, we would have no injuries on treadmills. And without guns, we would have no deaths caused by people with guns.......
Bartman,
And if we had no cars, no one would get hurt in auto accidents. And if had no alcohol no one would get into drunken bar fights. And if we had no co-mingling with other people, no one would catch a cold.... and so and so on.
Hey! If we didn't exist, we wouldn't be worrying about anything! :-)
One problem I see in some of the equipment is that people are doing texting while on machines which is really a dum thing to do! Daaaa your there to work out not chat on phone take a break from it... It is almost an addiction to some.
My husband who never exercised before was doing ab work on one of those half balls which are low to ground and he started to do his thing andlost balance and rolled off heheheh funny but he was embarresed.... not hurt
I really don't care for the snarky attitude of the author. Amateur hour? Anyone trying to get on the right track to get healthy shouldn't be ridiculed. Sure, people hurt themselves in the gym. Heck, I've tripped jogging down fresh gravel-mixed asphalt (road topping?) when I stepped in a hole. I went down like Pete Rose heading for home. That's road rash you don't want, and I've been running for years. It happens.
what do you expect when you get all the fat asses whose only physical activity was getting off the couch to go to the kitchen to get more food!
So the newbie fell off the treadmill--dumb, but not earth-shatteringly so. You slip, you fall, you dust yourself off and walk away with a newly learned lesson, right? Not this genius.
She proceeds to announce she fell off TWICE more and then damaged an expensive piece of equipment by lodging an iPod in it. The employees at this gym have far more patience than I do. After the second fall, I would be saying, "Pay attention or get out." And you bet I'd enforce it after taking the time (and likely, the expense) to pull her iPod out of my machine. This woman is a HUGE liability. Let her buy her own treadmill to destroy.
My couch and my TV remote have never once attacked me, and I'll stay away from exercise because its just too hazardous to my health.
ROLF Nice One-It will be your heart that attacks you!
Amazing... How hard is it to ask people where the "start" button is on the treadmill or simply how do I use this machine in the gym?
Better to sit home on one's fat ass that risk injuries exerting oneself. Close the gyms! Ban physical education! Put safety bars on recliners. Seat belts on toilets! And, practice walking before you build up to jogging; You could suffer leg cramps, or your thighs may chafe.
A nation of kitties.
Moron journalists! Less ban exercise and sports from America. The only game left will be to shoot news journalists with flame throwers. Now that would be fun!
Failure of patients to exercise and maintain a healthy weight causes much more morbidity and mortality than accidents during exercise.
Running outdoors results in plenty of "runner vs. vehicle" collisions, abrasions, broken bones, etc.
How about a little perspective here.
Sad but true.
Kind of funny too. Hidden cameras would make for a good comedy show. One problem though. The same novice athlete's would use the to sue the gym.
The gym trainer's attitudes encourage people to push too hard until they hurt themselves.
It's not just the equipment that's to blame.
We must outlaw this stuff and only let trained professionals use this kind of equipment. Too many Americans are getting hurt and killed.
.....oops I thought we were talking about firearms. Nevermind. The government only cares about things that could hurt them like an armed citizen.
Its just simply a matter of natural selection. Maybe we should outlaw working out.
I don't understand going to gyms and working out when I can walk or run or ride a bike or cross country ski and enjoy the surroundings, or I can pick up trash and litter around the neighborhood, or wash the car, or clean the house, or paint the patio wall, or give little kids piggy back rides, or walk the dog, or groom a horse or mow the grass for an elderly neighbor, or chop firewood, or paint out graffitti. I believe in fitness but really, repetitive exercise indoors looking at a wall would bore me to death, especially when there is real life to be lived and real work to be done. And to injure myself in addition to boring myself would be even worse. I say forget gyms and get out and live! No couch potatoes!
sincerelyyours, I agree 100%. Tried the gym circut a few years ago after having PT for my shoulder and it drove me crazy having to go there everyday and spend time on those machines. Being 48 and having three kids to raise and chase down I get more exercise on a daily basis than most people get in a week. We live in a three story house and I'm up and down those stairs a hundred times a day and believe me when at the end of the day I have to make that last climb to the master bedroom I've had a work out. People just need to get out, get off their behind, put down the iPods, cell phones etc., and get moving. Besides it saves you money and time that can be better spent in a more productive way, and you have a great sense of accomplishment.
Ever sit in the gym parking lot and watch people trying to get a parking place closer to the door -- so they can go inside and walk five miles on the treadmill? Stupid. If more people exercised outdoors, there would be fewer thugs loitering on the streets waiting for the isolated pedestrian to mug. Arm everyone out exercising and most crime would disappear, too.
I'm a 16 year old girl and 3 days ago got 5 stitches a black eye and a friction burn on her chin and bruises on her legs from falling off a treadmill!! the fact that it was in a public gym was just embarrasing! the worst part is people asking how it happened..I'm well able to keep up with the speed i was at, but accidentally stood on the unmoving side when i went to talk to my friend and went flying! ended up with blood running down my face but didn't even realise. it still wouldn't put me off going to the gym though!
i have been running outside for years--since i was in the fifth grade on my first track team--and had my first major injury this year at age 28. i was running down my normal path past a few neighborhoods and i crossed by the entrance to this neighborhood (there is a stop sign) and a truck barreled through adn almost hit me! i skidded on a bit of gravel and landed on my knee. ended up with a fractured knee cap and had to have surgery to pin that stupid thing back together. it's been four months now and my doctor just gave me the go ahead for exercising.
i'm going to the gym. screw cars.