From Dictionary.com:
tread⋅mill [tred-mil]–noun
1. an apparatus for producing rotary motion by the weight of people or animals, treading on a succession of moving steps or a belt that forms a kind of continuous path, as around the periphery of a pair of horizontal cylinders.
2. an exercise machine that allows the user to walk or run in place, usually on a continuous moving belt.
3. any monotonous, wearisome routine in which there is little or no satisfactory progress.
I’ve called it a hamster wheel and a dreadmill, and I’ve often defined it as #3 above. But as much as I deride it, man, am I ever glad to have the option to say, “not today! I am staying in with my cup holders, my fan and my TV.”
(and for more reasons to love the grind, or tips to help you pick one out, check out this article!)
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The weather’s taken a sudden nasty turn here in Ottawa, and I’m chickening out of my evening run. If I had a treadmill I’d at least be able to do that much!
Use mine in the winter …because I hate running in the winter…it beats the alternative…not running at all… I like your term “dreadmill”.
It is nice to have the option. And I agree with EZL200 – it’s better than not running at all. Whe I first started running I thought it was all hardcore to brave the windchills, ice, snowbanks etc. Now I’m quite content to do the treadmill until spring (though having my trusty running partner to talk to beside me helps!). Plus it’s easier to get dressed for the treadmill lol!