An exercise treadmill having an endless moveable surface looped around rollers or pulleys to form an upper run and a lower run, the movable surface being rotated when one of the rollers or pulleys is rotated, and an exercise surface for walking or running while exercising, a weight resistance mechanism for providing a weight resistance for simulating the dragging or pulling of a load, wherein the weight resistance can be adjusted and set to a specific weight resistance setting; a movable hand controller operatively attached to the weight resistance mechanism for operating and controlling the exercise treadmill and the weight resistance mechanism, wherein the endless movable surface moves in a direction simulating walking or running backwards, and wherein the weight resistance mechanism applies a constant and static force to the hand controller generally only in the same as the direction the endless movable surface moves and opposite a pulling direction, whereby operation of the treadmill simulates the dragging or pulling of a load by a combination of the actuation of the weight resistance mechanism to simulate the load and the walking or running backwards to provide the dragging or pulling action.