TREADMILLS A DEATHTRAP?

The recent news of Dave Goldberg’s death on a treadmill while on vacation in Mexico has shocked many. A healthy 47 year old man, married to Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and CEO of Survey Monkey himself, suddenly dies because of a treadmill accident? It highlights the fact that this can happen to anyone.

I think it’s fairly safe to say that the exercise equipment made available to this Silicon Valley professional at a private villa was at least as good, or likely better, in quality than most of the rest of the US has in their homes.

We need to look at the fact that almost half a million people in our country go to the emergency room every year because of an exercise equipment accident. The newer treadmills have high-tech touch screens and interactive displays that, if you aren’t familiar with, can really through you off balance if you try to use them! I myself have tripped on unfamiliar treadmills at least twice that I can remember!

Type of treadmill aside, we can be making our exercise routine dangerous simply by using our smartphones while we are on the equipment. How coordinated are you that you can jog and answer that quick text at the same time? Most people can’t do this safely. I think it’s like glancing at a text while driving – you may get lucky most of the time, but all it takes is once to cause an accident that changes your life forever.

I have no idea if Dave Goldberg was on his phone or if he tripped or what happened at all before he fell and cracked open his head. I just know he was a young, healthy man away with his family, trying to stay active, and ended up dead in a treadmill accident.

What lesson can we take away from this tragedy? First off, I would never run on my treadmill with no one around. If you have equipment in your home, it’s a good idea to have someone at home that can help you if something happens! Also, I’m now vowing to make my exercise machines a “no phone” zone – my phone will be on the other side of the room so I have to stop exercising to check it. Not easy to do, but I did it with my car (phone is on passenger side floor while I’m driving) and I can do it at the gym.

Another step we can take? If you have equipment at home I would make sure there is ample space behind it in case you do trip. If you’re using equipment at the gym with a complex screen, take a few minutes to familiarize yourself before you start exercising. If you have children at home it is so important to remove the safety plug (or whatever version your model has) so that it cannot be used when you are not around!

As we get smarter and more advanced with our technology and exercise equipment, we are seeing more of these accidents, some tragedies. What will you do to avoid it happening to you?