Among the innovations that cater to the unique needs of seniors, the miniTREAD seated treadmill is a unique product in the health promotion space. The miniTREAD’s compact, lightweight, and easy to use design is a beneficial solution to enable cardio/aerobic exercise and health for older adults who may have mobility, balance, or endurance issues that may limit their ability to walk.

Seniors living in older adult communities or assisted living facilities often have limited space, and traditional equipment may be too bulky and difficult to move around. However, the miniTREAD can easily be stored when not in use and can be brought out and set up in minutes. The fact that it is used while seated is advantageous for seniors who may have difficulty standing for extended periods of time. They can use it from a comfortable secure seat of their choosing (i.e., chair, stool, scooter, walker with a seat, wheelchair). Seniors who my feel overwhelmed or intimidated by complex exercise machines will easily adapt to its simple and intuitive controls.

Overall, the convenience alone makes it an exceptional addition to senior living settings as it allows seniors to exercise in the comfort of their rooms or in communal areas without the need for bulky or complicated exercise equipment. The miniTREAD can help seniors maintain their independence, improve their physical and mental well-being, and enhance their overall quality of life. In addition, if monitoring by staff is required, the demand for doing so is markedly reduced compared with taking residents for walks.

One of my first reactions to using miniTREAD was about how quickly you can feel it engaging your muscles. Because you are seated, I thought it may be too easy, but it was more challenging than I was expecting. It is much more intense than walking on a treadmill. To achieve an effective workout in a short amount of time with the added ability to increase intensity as you get stronger is game-changing for senior facilities.

All residents can improve their well-being regardless of limited time or physical limitations. Every senior has unique needs and the miniTREAD’s design and features account for that by allowing individuals to customize their workouts. Seniors can ease into a regular workout routine and make it more challenging with incline, increasing duration of use, adjusting the speed, or following the guided workouts. It can, in fact, be combined with upper body exercises with or without weights, thus helping each user to develop a unique program to improve cardiovascular fitness, strength, mobility and flexibility – without having to change location.

Overall, the miniTREAD’s ability to provide a low-impact, effective workout that can be customized to improve intensity over time is a significant advantage for seniors in any setting and allows them to maintain and improve their physical health and well-being in a convenient and efficient way.

Traditional exercise equipment such as treadmills or ellipticals require users to stand and move in ways that may be uncomfortable or unsafe for seniors. In utilizing these types of exercise machines, staff members must be available to closely supervise and assist residents during their exercise routines, which can be difficult when such activities challenge the staff-to-resident ratio.

For seniors, the miniTREAD's seated design provides an approachable low-impact and more stable exercise option that is less likely to result in injuries and eases the fear of falls, which can be a significant barrier to exercise. This can help seniors feel more confident and motivated to exercise regularly, leading to improved physical and mental health.

For staff, the miniTREAD offers a unique advantage to providing physical activity more readily to residents due to the minimal assistance needed for use, greatly reducing the staffing needed to safely provide exercise in a controlled environment for residents.