Billy and the treadmill

In a previous post I talked about the effectiveness of treadmills and ellipticals. I've been using an elliptical during my workouts and I feel like it's actually working. I guess I just needed to push myself a little harder. On an elliptical if you slow down then the machine slows down. On a treadmill that's not the case unless you push the button to decrease the speed. If you don't push that button and decide to slow down then you'll be in trouble.

Speaking of treadmills, recently I had a rather hilarious adventure at the gym. I took my position atop one of the ellipticals and started my workout. I selected the weight loss button because I trust the manufacturers of this machine to know how to make me lose weight. I began my workout and was well on my way to burning a few hundred calories when I noticed 2 guys walking into the gym. They didn't really look like gym buffs and because of the events that soon transpired I think it was one of the guys' first time.

One guy, we'll call him Jimathin, decided to use an elliptical. I don't see many guys using the elliptical. I think it's been stereotyped as more of a machine for the ladies although I'm not sure why (maybe it's the idiotic arm movement that is associated with working out on this machine and the thought that "real men run".) Anyway so while Jimathin is working out, his friend Billy decides he will try out the treadmill. Billy gets on the treadmill and is looking over the equipment trying to figure out how to make it work. Instead of simply pushing the "on" button he decides the best thing to do is remove the emergency magnet thus rendering the treadmill useless. Once the magnet is removed the treadmill will turn on but the belt won't turn. Billy tries everything (except putting the magnet back) to make the treadmill work. He even goes so far as to place is hands on the bar that sits in front of the display and force the treadmill belt to move by pushing with his feet. He actually got going at a pretty good speed but could only keep it up for a minute or two.

I kept waiting for someone to go over and show him how to use it. After about ten minutes (seriously) of powering the treadmill with his own force Billy decided he'd had enough and moved to a different part of the gym. I was still on the elliptical when I saw Billy return. This time he decided to use a different treadmill. I'm sure he was thinking, "Maybe this one will work. They should really fix that broken one." When I saw him get on the treadmill I literally thought, "Oh good he'll figure it out this time." Sadly he did not. As soon as he could he removed the magnet. When I saw him do this I actually got angry! Although it was none of my business how this man worked out, I wanted him to figure out how to work the treadmill because it was so simple! So he does his little push the belt with his feet thing and then gets off. I decided that I would help him by getting on a treadmill and showing him how it's done. By the time I got on the treadmill Billy had moved to the stationary bike ( a pretty self-explanatory machine...and no magnets). I got on the treadmill anyway hoping he would see that they do in fact work when the emergency magnet is in place. I'm not sure if he saw me. And I guess it doesn't really matter.