Back on the Treadmill Again (But with a Whole New Respect)
We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear. --Martin Luther King, Jr. For two days, I have been eyeballing that stupid treadmill, not wanting to have anything to do with it. But the truth of the matter: the treadmill accident was entirely my fault because I did not offer due respect to a powerful machine with a surface that was moving at 3.9 mph. It might seem counter intuitive, but my doctor said I should move around and not sit or lie still for too long because my injured muscles might spasm. So with my husband close by, I climbed back on the treadmill, albeit at a lower level of intensity: No elevation and 3.2 mph. Given that I'm in overall good shape, this was doable and I didn't overtax my body or exacerbate my injury. I made sure treadmill was OFF before getting on, and I stood on the rails before starting it up. So that others may learn from my mistake (or be reminded once again), here are some basic treadmill safety tips. --ALWAYS appr...