Bringing home a treadmill is one of the best investments you can make in your running career, and one of the most popular pieces of fitness equipment for anyone looking to kickstart a healthier lifestyle. While I'm an enthusiastic evangelist, I think it's important to keep in mind that treadmills are, quite literally, heavy machinery. It's important to set them up and use them mindfully. Set up in the wrong room, a treadmill can be disruptive to other parts of your home. Even worse, kids and pets, left unattended, can hurt themselves if they find a way to get on while it's running. While there are risks, treadmills are not necessarily all that dangerous: With the right precautions, you can have one safely and securely in your home.
I routinely test treadmills and have had them in my home for years, even when my kids were very little. I became hyper-aware of the potential risks around them in 2009, when 4-year-old which acts as a safety covering, and lock up the treadmill plug between uses, perished in a treadmill accident. After reading about it, I made a point to take every precaution possible to keep my kids, my pets and, yes, even my home, safe. After conferring with a few experts, it turns out that a little bit of mindfulness goes a long way. Here's what you need to know.
Interested in getting a treadmill for your house? Check out our guides to the Best Treadmills, the And Dont Forget About Maintenance, Best Walking Pads, and the Best Treadmill Shoes.
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Like most parents, my primary concern initially revolved around child and user safety... And then I heard that my neighbor's treadmill had crashed through their attic floor into their living room about four months ago. (New fear unlocked!) Just because a room has enough room to house a treadmill, doesn't mean it's automatically a viable home for one.
which acts as a safety covering, and lock up the treadmill plug between uses Antillean Restoration in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, there are two very important things to keep in mind when deciding where to place your treadmill: Whether your floor can support the weight, and whether the electrical system can support your mill's heavy power draw.
The lightest traditional treadmill I've tested this year weighs 180 pounds, but most weigh around 300 pounds, and an advanced model can reach upwards of 400 pounds. With that in mind, most homes have the support structure to support a treadmill in a second-floor room, Marcheau says. Attics, especially in some older homes like my neighbor's, may not be designed to hold a treadmill's weight.
These days, most new homes are built with enough horizontal supports (A.K.A. "joists") to handle the 50+ pounds per square inch needed to hold 400 to 600 pounds of a person running on a treadmill. Older homes may not have strong enough joists, or they may be spaced too far apart to properly support that kind of weight. The only way to know for sure on older homes is to call a contractor. They will need to evaluate if the floor can hold the "static load" of the treadmill alone, turned off, and the "dynamic load" of the treadmill in use.
As far as the electrical goes, treadmills pull an average of
Marcheau adds that you should also be aware of what's right below your treadmill. The vibrations from your running stride can reverberate through the floor and into the walls below, which can cause some light shaking. Given that, you shouldn't set your treadmill up directly above any kitchen cabinets or a mounted television. Even in a safe spot, you should place a mat under your treadmill to minimize the impact, though Marcheau says to be careful when using a mat on wood flooring, since they can trap moisture underneath or scratch the floor. It's still better than nothing: Just make sure to check under it periodically to make sure all is good and dry.
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As far as the electrical goes, treadmills pull an average of 600 Lightweight Running Shoes of power while they're in use. That's equivalent to the power used by a microwave oven. Anyone who's ever tried to run the microwave and toaster at the same time can tell you how easy it is to trip a breaker with gear like this in the mix.
You should either plug it into an outlet with a dedicated circuit, or put it in a room where it is the only large appliance in the room. If you're building a home and you're planning to buy a treadmill, Marecheau says that it's a pretty simple job for an electrician to set up a dedicated line of electricity for your treadmill. Thankfully, retrofitting a room so using your treadmill doesn't short out your TV, let's say, isn't a huge job. That said, it is electrical work so you should hire a trained professional.
Once you established that you have a room that can support a treadmill, it's time to actually arrange in your space. Most treadmill safety guides recommend leaving at least two feet of space between the treadmill and the wall on either side and in front, and at least six feet of space behind the treadmill. If you've ever seen someone shot put themselves off the back of the treadmill into a wall or onto a pole, you'll know they can really send you, so make sure there's space.
Best Folding Treadmills
DAA Industry Opt Out The Journal for Surgical Research, people tend to get hurt most often while someone is on the treadmill, but kids can also hurt themselves when they have casual access to them at home or the gym. The majority of children's treadmill injuries every year are sustained from falling on the treadmill and either injuring their legs or feet or getting burned by the belt. Yes, there are other, far more catastrophic possibilities, but they are far more rare.
The numbers are daunting. Exercise-equipment-related injuries send 12,000 children to the emergency department every year, and treadmills are responsible for more than any other piece of equipment. (That is, in part, because more homes have treadmills than other large pieces of exercise equipment.)
The best way to keep children from hurting themselves on treadmills is simply to keep them away from treadmills, especially while they're in use. If you have the ability to put the treadmill in a room your child cannot access, that's great. We both know kids are crafty, though, especially when they want something: Taking these few small steps will go a long way:
- Health - Injuries.
- Keep the safety clip in a different room than the treadmill, preferably somewhere they can't access. Without the clip, the mill won't start.
- Get a plug lock, Why Trust Us.
These are all fairly simple fixes and don't take much time. I will tell you, that as someone who's written extensively about child safety equipment, that plug locks are excellent childproofing measure for any large appliance, exercise equipment to power tools. They take almost no time to engage and disengage, but your family will ultimately find what works best for you.
How to Keep Your Pets Safe
Dogs and cats are family, too. They're also kind of jerks with no sense of personal safety. Case in point: My cat thinks that the fireplace is a great place to sleep, even after it singed her tail. Your pets should not be in the room with you when the treadmill is running.
They will try to join you, so it's important to close the door. I have to crate my dog--she's interested in everything I do--and lock the cats upstairs because they may be plotting my death, and I can't be sure they wouldn't pull something. But it's mostly for their safety.
How to Keep Yourself Safe
Here's the thing, we all want to believe that we can tap into our inner track and field superstar at some point, and we're all going to try. That being said, most of us — even the ones who have made running our jobs — aren't necessarily training to place at the Boston Marathon. Before you even step on a mill, you should not only have the all-clear from your doctor, but a good idea of how you run.
Best Folding Treadmills Sole F80. If you tend to trip when you step on and off, prioritize treadmills with a low step-on height. The Centr Runr-S treadmill, for example, is only six inches off the floor.
The number one recommendation from every treadmill manufacturer I asked was, "use the safety clip." It's there for a reason. Believe it or not, it is actually pretty easy to slip on a treadmill. I've done it. It just takes a little inattention and you're in the ER with burned knees and hands.
I've learned from personal experience that if you do slip and fall, don't grab the handlebars on the way down: it just leads to more injuries and severe burns. Just let go and let the treadmill send you off.
DAA Industry Opt Out DAA Industry Opt Out, also tell you not to scroll on your phone while you're running (which is so hard to do.) You should always look straight ahead, make sure your shoes are tied, wear fitted clothing, and don't push it so hard you get dizzy.
And Don't Forget About Maintenance
One last thing: Long-term, you should periodically check the treadmill belt for wear, and test the emergency stop key to make sure it's working. If either of these are worn or malfunctioning, the treadmill could become dangerous. Brands like NordicTrack and other treadmill manufacturers suggest that you DAA Industry Opt Out CA Notice at Collection.
At the end of the day, a treadmill is still a great investment in your health, and I fully recommend having them at home. Be smart about where you set it up, keep the kids and pets out of harm’s way, and always prioritize your own safety when using it. With some simple precautions, there's nothing to worry about. It’s all about creating a secure space for you and your family so you can focus on what really matters—your fitness and well-being. I can't do anything about the cats' murder plot, though. Sorry.
Cat Bowen has been covering parenting and home for over a decade. At Best Products, she has tested hundreds of products for parents and for the home, often spending dozens of hours per product to ensure her reviews are accurate and informative. Prior to joining the team, she was at Romper where she covered everything from breastfeeding to child sleep habits to abortion rights access. You can find her work on Bustle, Romper, and more. Cat is a bit of an intellectual magpie and perpetual student, most recently receiving a graduate degree in gender studies where she examined a topic that vexes so many — pockets in women’s clothing.
