Treadmill vs. Park Bench

(Check out HAHPN - July 2010...Park Bench vs Treadmill was rearranged and edited to make the excerpt easier to read)

OK, it dawned on me again yesterday while I took my kids to the playground in the cold air: a park bench is more versatile than a treadmill...or more than any cardio machine. The reason why makes sense because each one has its own characteristics that the other one should not possess. Otherwise, a park bench would be called a treadmill, and a treadmill would be called a park bench.

To each its own.

The Breakdown

Treadmills - Of course, they are superb for cardio, speed, and shuffle training. Hill work, acceleration & deceleration training work as well. You can do hand walks in a straight arm plank position or lateral hand walks in the same position. You could also do assisted mountain climbers by facing away from the treadmill in a push-up position. But, set the speed to a workable pace.

The treadmill literally moves you.

Park Benches - You do all of the movement. You are the initiator, which is the main difference between a park bench and a tread even though treadmill brands such as TechnoGym allow you to initiate movement.

But, your park bench will hold form for push-ups, lunges, squats, lower and upper body holds, bench taps with your feet or hands, power jumping, depth jumping, and wall drills (bench drill for acceleration work).

The park bench targets your strength, balance, coordination, agility, and....what a minute...these two pieces of equipment complement each other.

Combine the two. If you do no have a park bench at home, then use a strong chair, step, or other. If you don't have a treadmill and cannot get one, then use the great outdoors. On that note, you can get in your treadmill and park bench benefits for free courtesy of the great outdoors!

You have so many workout opportunities at your fingertips.

Have you performed decent exercises on a bench?

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com