Asking for help choosing a conditioning option.

[Adam Levine]

All, I'm starting to think of conditioning options (NLP will be ending soon). I tend to like extremely intense intervals that bring my heard rate over 160 in 30 seconds, then plenty of rest (basically, take my pain in short, intense doses). My gym does not have a sled or prowler. I want to pick one option and stick with it - I'm not a variety kind of guy.

I see the following as my main options - any suggestions?

• Deadmills do the job extremely well, I like them, and I have the gym owner's permission to do them, but I don't want to break the treadmill.
• Hop-on/hop-off treadmill sprints also work, and has the benefit that it's titratable (set the speed), but I feel wobbly at the end of the 30 seconds at full speed - I'm not sure it's safe near my max capability.
• The C2 rower can't get my heart rate up fast enough - doesn't work.
• The elliptical feels unstable - hate it. Also hate the non-air stationary bike.
• They have truck tires in two sizes, so I could do tire flips.
• I've considered getting a harness and tow cable and doing tire drags, but there's no hook on the tire - I'd have to wrap the cable around the tire.
• Heavy squats do the job, but I can't do them often enough - getting my heart rate high enough requires my 5RM - light squats don't do it.
• I could buy a prowler to use at home, but I'm not sure how the condo association would like me grinding steel loudly on their streets/parking lot. I also haven't used one, so don't want to make the investment unless I know I want it.
• Any other ideas?

-->Adam

[Oso Rojo]

My favorite is the prowler and you didn't say there was a budget limit so how about this ...
TANK™ M2 – Torque Fitness

And the condo association wouldn't complain about the grinding. But you might need a separate parking place to store it.

The tire drag could product a prowler like experience. Get some nylon webbing like climber uses and make a long loop to go through the tire and then carabiner it to the back of the harness. That webbing is easy to find at your local REI, assuming you have a local REI. The strap and harness would easily store in your gym bag and you could load the tire with lose weights, kettle bells, or dumb bells to increase weight as your stamina goes up.

[Oso Rojo]

I found this after I posted;
5 Drills That Are Better Than the Prowler | T Nation

[Adam Levine]

My favorite is the prowler and you didn't say there was a budget limit so how about this ...
TANK™ M2 – Torque Fitness

And the condo association wouldn't complain about the grinding. But you might need a separate parking place to store it.

The tire drag could product a prowler like experience. Get some nylon webbing like climber uses and make a long loop to go through the tire and then carabiner it to the back of the harness. That webbing is easy to find at your local REI, assuming you have a local REI. The strap and harness would easily store in your gym bag and you could load the tire with lose weights, kettle bells, or dumb bells to increase weight as your stamina goes up.

$1200 is a bit much, but that thing looks awesome! And yes, I do have the room in the garage for it.

I'm thinking the tire drag may be the way to go. Cheap and can be done in-gym.

[wsmoran]

I like air bikes. The Rogue Echo Bike is probably the best for the dollar. Lower cost than the Assault or the Schwinn AirDyne and I like it better than both.

[wiigelec]

Deadmills do the job extremely well, I like them, and I have the gym owner's permission to do them, but I don't want to break the treadmill.

I do these all the time on a treadmill I personally paid $1500 for.

How would you break the treadmill? If you like them do them don't worry...

[Adam Levine]

How would you break the treadmill?

Optimally, deadmills should be done with a broken or trash treadmill.

The resistance you feel is you forcing the motor to move. When you force an electric motor to spin, it's becomes a generator of electricity (like regenerative braking in a hybrid car). The treadmill wasn't designed for the motor to be shoved into reverse, so that electricity isn't being used, and might not even be grounded. If it's shoved into sensitive electronic components, it's possible you could damage them.

-->Adam

[Fulcrum]

Optimally, deadmills should be done with a broken or trash treadmill.

The resistance you feel is you forcing the motor to move. When you force an electric motor to spin, it's becomes a generator of electricity (like regenerative braking in a hybrid car). The treadmill wasn't designed for the motor to be shoved into reverse, so that electricity isn't being used, and might not even be grounded. If it's shoved into sensitive electronic components, it's possible you could damage them.

-->Adam

I might be talking out my ass, but I bet they thought that one through.
Say a guy starts briefly running faster than what the treadmill's motor is putting out,
or when speed changes are selected (slower) and you are over-applying force to the system slowing down.

I bet the smart people who invented it put some diodes and/or electo-check-valve-doo-dadds ^tm in there to prevent a back feed situation.

On your Rower, look at the fan, you should be able to close the fan intake off for more resistance.
I'm surprised you can't get your "heart rate up" with that.
Long powerful delibrate strokes for 30 second max speed at then rest for a minute.
Or go 1 minute max.row 1 minute slow row.

[wiigelec]

The resistance you feel is you forcing the motor to move. When you force an electric motor to spin, it's becomes a generator of electricity (like regenerative braking in a hybrid car). The treadmill wasn't designed for the motor to be shoved into reverse, so that electricity isn't being used, and might not even be grounded. If it's shoved into sensitive electronic components, it's possible you could damage them.

If the motor is not running it is not connected to any power circuits because if it was it would be running.

Any voltage you induce won't have a completed circuit for current to flow and I highly doubt you would create enough voltage to break anything down so nothing to worry about but of course the decision is yours...

[Adam Levine]

If the motor is not running it is not connected to any power circuits because if it was it would be running.

Any voltage you induce won't have a completed circuit for current to flow and I highly doubt you would create enough voltage to break anything down so nothing to worry about but of course the decision is yours...

If there are no power circuits to the motor, how does it get electricity to run? The electricity you produce will go through the same circuit, in reverse, eventually to a physical switch or outlet, hopefully grounded.

But, at least it's your treadmill, not a gym owner, so it's your risk to take.