DIY treadmill videos are going viral on social media.  

By Lauren Wicks
May 01, 2019

If you’ve tried to get a membership to a popular fitness locale lately, you’ve likely been shocked by the price tag it comes with. Boutique fitness memberships can easily cost more than $250 a month, and even standard gym memberships are priced upwards of three figures with the bells and whistles.

If the only reason you're using the membership is for cardio, you might be tempted to get your own treadmill but the ones that won't feel like they're going to break under your feet can easily set you back $1,000 or more. So what's a would-be exerciser to do?

Well, "run outside" would be the obvious answer. It's free, it's fantastic for losing weight, and despite popular sentiment, you can even do it in the cold. But that's not the conclusion that everyone comes to.  

One girl from Maryland (jokingly) decided to take matters into her own hands and shared a now-viral video of her “DIY treadmill”—nestled right in between her stove and a countertop. According to this video, all it takes is a little soap or shower gel and some water to slick up the flooring and anyone can get their feet moving and heart pumping. Several others have imitated the video in various rooms in their homes, but it hasn't (yet) become a viral challenge.

Because we are a responsible website, we probably need to state here that while this technically could work as a method of cardio, there are a whole lot of things that can go wrong making a soap and water “treadmill.” Most importantly, it's just too easy to slip on slick, hard flooring. And the last thing you want is to spend your day in a waiting room with a chipped tooth, or something broken.

No, you’re better off going for a run in the great outdoors or just coughing up $10/month and heading to your local Planet Fitness. It's affordable, and far, far less dangerous.