Winter coming....get a treadmill!

With Winter on the way, runners don't just throw their shoes in a closet, they often move indoors and hit the treadmills. Interestingly enough, treadmill running is ranked #1 among fitness machines, with 50.1 million users in 2007, according to a Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association's fitness study. In the entire fitness/exercise category, only 'working out free weights' and 'walking for fitness' attracted more participants # 57.7 million and 108.7 million, respectively. In 2007, wholesales sales of treadmills exceeded $1 billion.

What's driving this use is the fact that today's treadmills are vastly different than the versions of 10 years ago as the modern machines are equipped with DVD players, miniature TVs, and are compatible with MP3 players. This blend of entertainment with exercise has helped the category grow.

There are other newsworthy aspects of the treadmill category and its 50.1 million users:

• Aging Gracefully. There are more people over the age of 35 (29.8 million) using a treadmill than under the age of 35 (20.3 million).
• Ladies First. 56% of all treadmill participants are female.
• Motivated Participants. Of the 50.1 million treadmill users, 29.8 million of them (58%) are considered 'core' participants, i.e. somebody using the treadmill 50 days or more a year.
• Senior Sensations. There are more Americans over the age of 55 using a treadmill (11.1 million) than those under the age of 25 using a treadmill (10.8 million).
• Category Leader. There are 18.5 million 'frequent' users of a treadmill (those using the machine 100 days or more a year) which is more than the total participation for fitness/competitive swimming (18.4 million), yoga/tai chi (14.8 million), stair-climbing machines (13.5 million), aquatic exercise (9.8 million), Pilates Training (9.2 million), rowing machines (8.8 million), calisthenics (7.6 million), cardio kickboxing (4.8 million), and cross-country ski machines (3.7 million).
• Soaring Sales. The treadmill is the #1 fitness machine in terms of sales as wholesale sales of treadmills (for use at home, in clubs, and in schools and institutions) were $1.25 billion, in 2007.
• Home Sweet Home. Nearly half (47%) of all treadmill users work out on a treadmill more often at home.

So forget the cold and get on with it....and remember, Run Happy!