Death by Treadmill: How Prison Punishment Became Your Workout Routine

What do stair steppers and the treadmill have in common? 

Is it that they are both…

• Commonly associated with mindless calorie burning? 

• Hated by many gym goers?

• Possibly the inspiration for “Road to Nowhere” by the Talking Heads and AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”? 

Though all of the above may possibly be true, these “fitness” machines weren’t born out of a desire for more shapely calves and improved cardiovascular health, they were invented for punishment, and I would go so far as to say torture. 

Different forms of treadmills have been human or animal powered throughout history for milling, pumping water, and other various purposes, but in 1818 the British millwright Sir William Cubbit transformed this ancient technology from one of productivity to one of mind-numbing futility. His stair-stepper-esque contraption was “meant to cause the incarcerated to suffer and learn from their sweat,” It literally bored and worked prisoners to death—up to 24 of them at a time. 

Let me clear something up: only one “prison rehabilitation device” was officially invented, but it looked like a stair stepper and was called a treadmill. Considering the rotational mechanism is essentially the same in treadmills found in most gyms today, I feel comfortable tracing both popular pieces of gym equipment back to this torturous beginning (but feel free to tell me otherwise in the comments).

Can we pause for a moment and  imagine how successful it was at literally crushing the souls of the inmates forced to use it? I can barely tolerate 20 minutes on a stair stepper, but prisoners were on the treadmill for up to 10 hours a day! The punishment of extreme boredom—accompanied by extreme exhaustion—was surely accomplished (and no one was excited about their muscle definition). 

The treadmill proved to be more than just a punishment, it could also be a death sentence. The 1884 article “Death on the Treadmill” admonished Durham Prison for having an average of one fatality a week via treadmill. Yes, you read that correctly, one death per week. Even for a 19th century British prison that rate was unacceptably high. Despite the extreme mortality rate, Americans couldn’t leave all the fun across the pond. Treadmills were also installed in several US prisons, though lucky for those incarcerated at the time, the machine never reached quite the same popularity as it did in the UK.

Discovering this unsavory origin story gave me pause to think about my own dislike of both the treadmill and the stair stepper. I’ve definitely “done my time” on these machines over the years, be it because of too much food at Thanksgiving or some other misdeed I found unacceptable. Unfortunately I am not alone in this: many people use exercise—and thus workout equipment—as a form of punishment. It does seem oddly ironic that we now use “atonement machines” of our own free will to punish ourselves. And when did we start equating exercise with punishment? (A big topic for another newsletter). This is where we have to ask ourselves,

do we really want to be living any part of our lives like a 19th century convict? 

It isn’t ALL bad… Exercise equipment can also be great, convenient, and even enjoyable. They can help runners prepare for a race, or be part of rehab for someone recovering from an injury. Some people enjoy putting on their favorite TV-show and zoning out while they get some much-needed heart-healthy exercise. Heck, since I figured out how and when I want to move, even I have enjoyed running on a treadmill from time to time. It’s not that treadmills and stair-steppers, regardless of their origin, are unequivocally bad, but I want to ask the 50+ million Americans out there who use them frequently, is there something out there that’s better?

Even more importantly, to all the people who DON’T use the treadmill but really THINK they should: 

It’s OK! You really don’t  have to use them, and you don’t need to feel bad about it! 

There really are so many other ways to move and meet your health goals, whether in the gym or somewhere else. Mind-numbing repetition and boredom is not the only way to health. If you feel like you are literally on “the road to nowhere,” then get off the treadmill and go somewhere. 

Prologue

Though treadmills are not the death machines they once were, there are about 3 wrongful deaths per year, and thousands more injuries. News sources from CNN to Runner’s World have articles titled “Treadmills cause thousands of injuries each year. Here’s how to use one safely” and “How to avoid injury while running on a treadmill.” With all those buttons and speeds and that revolving belt, their still not the safest options for movements. So yes, I am hating on treadmills and stair steppers, but why not? 😛 I’d love for you to share your love or hate (or indifference) for them in the comments.