Build a treadmill with a steel belt or chain belt. The user wears shoes with strong magnets embedded in the soles. Strength of the magnets is selected so the shoe can still be taken off the belt by rolling off starting from your heel (like geckos supposedly roll off their clinging feet from glass panes). The treadmill can be installed at the ceiling of any small home with the user walking head down. Besides saving space the head down walk also puts less stress on sore joints and gives the user an entirely new perspective.

Getting on and off could be a challenge. A horizontal bar under the treadmill would allow to swing up and down (bar folds up to treadmill when not in use).
-- kbecker, Apr 02 2004

I can see the lawsuits already.
-- normzone, Apr 02 2004


I think the blood suddenly rushing to your head would make it difficult to work out.
-- cocktaillouie, Apr 02 2004


Neat!
-- FarmerJohn, Apr 03 2004


//I can see the lawsuits already.// There is always room for lawsuits. As manufacturer one just has to put enough warning labels on the box. - "This treadmill for walking only. Do not try to jump while using it."

//... the blood suddenly rushing ...// Gotta train for it, sell it as an added feature - "If you master this treadmill, a red face will never give you away again."
-- kbecker, Apr 03 2004


An ordindary treadmill hung from the ceiling and The Wrong Trousers
-- half, Apr 03 2004


I love this idea. It would be breat cross training. I think a safty harness would be a good idea though.

You could do away with the magnets and the power in the tread mill and use high friction shoes to move the thing-- that would be much more like real running... "kick the earth out from under you" as the coach used to say.
-- futurebird, Apr 08 2004


We used to exercise at school by bicycling our legs in the air, so I see no issues with blood rushing anywhere. Indeed, I think an upside-down bicycle would be a heck of lot easier to implement than a ceiling treadmill.
-- DrCurry, Apr 08 2004



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