Starting a new year often means getting more serious about exercise, so its time to remove the hangers and dust from your treadmill and returning to a regular walking or running routine. Some people like to listen to music on a treadmill. I usually listen to podcasts. But another nice way to pass the time on a treadmill is to watch video on a screen. The iPad is perfect for watching videos, and some treadmills have a built-in ledge for holding an iPad, but many models don't. Since last month, I've been testing out a simple device that I purchased on Amazon for $22, the ADIRSports Acrylic Universal Treadmill Bookholder. As you can tell from the title, this device can be used to hold books while you are on a treadmill, but it is also advertised as a way to hold an iPad, and that's how I have been using it.
This product comes in multiple sizes, and I purchased the largest one for my 12.9" iPad Pro — the model advertised as 11" x 11" x 2.5". In retrospect, I see that I could have also purchased the smaller version with a 9" height because the 2018 version of the 12.9" iPad Pro is 8.5" high when it is in landscape orientation, and I never plan to use my iPad in portrait orientation on my treadmill. Having said that, I'm perfectly happy with the way that the iPad sits a little bit lower on my treadmill with this larger size, and perhaps the extra surface area adds to stability. There is also a 3.5" version, but you don't need that for a thin iPad; that version would only make sense if you want to fit a thick book underneath the lip.
The back lip of the device is about 1.75" which turns out to be perfect for fitting over the back of my treadmill. (I own a PaceMaster ProSelect treadmill, but the PaceMaster company went out of business in 2012.) If the top surface of your treadmill is thicker, you could certainly flip the device and put your iPad in the 1.75" side and put the 2.5" side over your treadmill.
My main concern about a product like this was sturdiness. First, I don't want the Bookholder to slide off of my treadmill while I am walking or running. I was especially concerned because the top of my treadmill is actually curved. However, the plastic of my treadmill and the acrylic of this product do a fine job of staying stable when they make contact with one another, and I haven't seen the Bookholder slide left or right at all.
Second, I don't want my iPad to slip off of the device. Fortunately, that has not been a problem. Even when my iPad Pro is not in a case, it stays in place while I walk or run on the treadmill. There are no lips on the sides, so if I physically push my iPad I can make it slide, but even with the vibrations of my treadmill it does not slide on its own. Better yet, I have been keeping my iPad in the Apple Smart Folio case for the third generation 12.9" iPad Pro, and the silicone provides incredible friction between the back of my iPad Pro and the acrylic of the Bookholder, making everything very stable.
Because of the size of this product (and the iPad it holds), when you use this product you are covering up much of the front panel of your treadmill. I don't have trouble temporarily moving my iPad to the side to start and stop a workout, but I don't recommend using this product if you need to press lots of buttons on your treadmill during your workout, especially if your hands get sweaty. But if you start a program on your treadmill that changes pace automatically, or if you decide to just go a long distance at the same pace, so that there is no need to fiddle with buttons during a workout, then this works great.
And that is how I have been using this product. Much of the time that I use my treadmill, I like to walk at a fast pace for a long distance. Thus, I choose my settings on the treadmill, then I start a workout on my Apple Watch, and then I press start on the treadmill and put the Bookholder with my iPad in place and press play on my iPad. Binge watching TV shows from a service like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, using my AirPods connected wirelessly to my iPad Pro, is a fantastic way to make the time go by on a treadmill. Indeed, I often go longer than I might have otherwise just because I want to get to the end of an episode before I stop.
This is a very simple product, but it works well, and it gives me a new way to make the time seem to go by more quickly while I am using my treadmill. If you like the idea of watching video while you are on your treadmill, I can recommend this product.
Click here to get the ADIRSports Acrylic Universal Treadmill Bookholder from Amazon ($21.95)