The Technological Evolution and History of the TreadMill

In today’s world, being healthy is evidently a top priority of most individuals. How one achieves such a healthy status varies from one individual to another.

Science and technology has given us so many options on how to stay healthy and physically fit. Now, people have options such as choosing to diet, exercising, practicing veganism, etc.

When it comes to exercises; it is without a doubt the most popular forms of achieving physical fitness and a healthy status.

So many forms and types of exercises also exist today; and running is chief among those exercises; geared towards achieving fitness and good health.

Having said that; this post is aimed at focusing on the history of one of the most convenient and greatest exercise machines ever invented in our time – The Treadmill.

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The technology behind the Treadmill is simply amazing; as instead of the usual outdoor running and jogging to keep fit; the treadmill was technologically designed to allow you jog comfortably within your living room or any part of your home or even office big enough to accommodate a treadmill.

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How did the treadmill come to be?

In a very interesting article, it was revealed that the very efficient hi-tech equipment wasn't always meant to be an exercise machine. In other words, the treadmills weren’t necessarily invented with 'an-exercise-machine' visualized as its sole purpose. The history of the continuously improving technological device is quite interesting; including how it got its name.

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The History behind the Treadmill

The idea behind the originated around the 1st century AD from the Roman who invented a device called a “tread wheel”. The tread wheel at the time was designed to lift heavy weight.

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The tread wheel was at that time much larger in size and diameter. It was big enough to hold people inside it and with a crane attached to it, it lifted heavy weights which were twice it’s weight yet using just half the manpower.

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Improvements and further applications

As time went on, further application to the use of the tread wheel was adopted. Horses were made to run on belts which would aid the generation of power, because at the time, and with the limited technology and science, natural water or wind which were inconsistent, was not reliable.

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In other words, we went from a wheel – with improvement and modification – to a belt-like structure. On an interesting note, some historians believe that the improved application using horses contributed to the origin of the now popular term, “horse-power”.

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Dog powered treadmills

In the late 19th century, similar machines with same concept were used for domestic duties. The modified treadmills were made to run machineries like lathes which involved churning butter with the help of dogs, goats or sheep.

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Application of the “tread wheel” to manpower

A British engineer, William Cubitt in 1889 went further in the application of the tread wheel, to invent what was referred to as a “contraption for prisoners”. William Cubitt’s device was applied as a form of punishment to prisoners or convicts. The device was applied to make sure convicts were never idle and made full use of the manpower available. On the device, the prisoners were made to run for up to 6 hours, nonstop.

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By this human application, the device would at times help in grinding seed grains and pump water for the mills.

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Modern application and today’s invention

As technology and science evolved, the original tread wheel concept was combined with the one used for the mills, and this led to the birth of the term “treadmill”.

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Conclusion

It was after the centuries and decades of modification and technological advancement, that this present era of ours, saw the creation of the current version, which is fittingly used for fitness regimen.

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