Treadmill Running – part 1 – advantages

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27 Jan, 2010

Treadmill Running – part 1 – advantages

Posted by: Andrew In: 10k Training| 5k Training| Improve Running

Overview of Treadmill Running

Many runners and non runners alike will use treadmills as either an alternative to running outside altogether, or as an addition to their training. In this short series of post I discuss the various merits of running on a treadmill, and why people do it along with some of the advantages and disadvantages that come with this kind of training.

Many people have strong opinions about treadmills – I would love to hear them if you would care to comment below!

Advantages of Running on a Treadmill

Bad weather

One of the main reasons many runners give for using treadmills is to get some miles in when the weather is bad for days / weeks at a time. Over in the UK recently for example we had the “worse winter in 30 years” (doesn’t that seem to be said every year!) and I couldn’t get out onto the road for 3-4 weeks.

I decided to get down to the gym and get some running in and that was when I started thinking about this article.

Safe

On cold dark winter nights there is no question that being inside in a warm friendly gym is much safer, from both vehicles and other people! For the lone runner this is especially true. My wife certainly wouldn’t go out running on her own at night and we live in a pretty safe and well lit area.

Returning from injury / time off

In the past I have used treadmills to gently get back into running after time off through injury (or more often through prolonged periods of laziness;)). It is nice to know that you can stop at any time and not have to worry about turning back still having a few miles to get home.

One thing I would say though is that it is very easy to crank up the speed on a treadmill just to get a feel for running fast – avoid this at all costs when just getting back into running otherwise you’ll set yourself back. Speed up gradually overtime and you will see the improvements.

Interval work / Speedwork

I love using the treadmill for interval work and it is one of the aspects of treadmill running that I find mentally easier than outdoor running. It does break the monotony and boredom of running on a treadmill, and has the added benefit for those of you a little vain:) of making you look like a really fast runner!

I usually do this over about 5-10km and run the first km as a steady warm up and then do a pyramid of increasingly fast intervals of anywhere between 1 and 4 minutes, turning the speed right down again at the end and jogging recover for 1-3 minutes.

One of the key things about interval training whether on the treadmill or outside, is to be always thinking about the last rep – this should be just as fast as the first one. This is a lot harder than you might imagine for those of you who haven’t done it before. The first couple of reps generally feel easy, you are running well within yourself and it is very tempting to crank up the speed. Just remember that last rep though – if you get the speed right the last rep should be tough, but at the same speed.

Some words of warning when running fast on a treadmill -

build up slowly
wear the safety cord if possible in case you do fall off
concentrate on the treadmill
concentrate on your style

Steady pace

I find it really hard (mentally) to run the whole distance at the same pace. As discussed above, I like to throw in speed sessions on the treadmill to break things up a bit. Having said that though, if you can switch off (maybe by watching tv) and just run at a steady pace, it is a good way to get the miles in if you can’t get outside.

Just remember though (and we will come onto this in the disadvantages of running on a treadmill), the speed the treadmill says is generally only relative to that treadmill. As you will find, running on different models and even different machines can be very different unless they have been carefully (and regularly) calibrated, and even then the experience of different models can be worlds apart.

Heart Rate Training

I don’t do this myself anymore, but back in the day when I had a heart rate monitor, linking it up to the treadmill was a great experience – you really do listen to your body. The whole training session is geared around how you feel, it will automatically speed up and slow down, incline and decline depending on your heart rate.

Summary

In summary then, the treadmill, for most people is used as a great alternative and addition to running outdoors. It is a supplement to a normal training regime. There are plenty of benefits to running on a treadmill as discussed above, and in future posts we will look at some of the disadvantages and then some specific treadmill sessions.

Running Not Jogging