Treadmill Considerations
This post is for the occasional or seasonal treadmill user — people who most often run outside. Sometimes it’s dark out when we want to run, the roads are slippery, or the weather is really bad. Sometimes, all of those factors are present.
If you regularly use the treadmill, these considerations may be less important for you because your body is already conditioned to treadmill running.
To read more from an expert on the topics below, click here: Montana Running Lab. (Most of what I’ve written below is summarized from this source).
The Incline
A common myth for treadmill use is that a low incline (about 1%) should be used to “make up” for the lack of wind resistance that a runner naturally experiences while running outside. However, most of the time this won’t be necessary, because most of the time we’re running or jogging at a relatively easy and slow pace. The wind resistance experienced outside only becomes significant at paces faster than 8.6mph (~ 7:00/mile or 4:20/km pace). So unless you’re running at 8.6 or faster, there’s no need to consider wind resistance as a factor in your efforts.
That being said, even if you are running at 8.6+ mph, you don’t HAVE to use the incline. Just know that your effort at that pace is going to be slightly easier than if you were running on solid ground.
Alternatively, if you are running at 8.5mph or lower, you can still use the incline to increase your effort without speeding up, if you want to.
Stride Differences
Most runners have slightly shorter stride on the treadmill compared to solid ground. In other words, the general trend is that runners more steps at a given pace while on a treadmill than they would on solid ground.
Because bigger strides require more opening up at the hips, it follows that with a shorter stride, runners tend to use a little less range of motion in the hips on the treadmill than on solid ground.
Treadmill running is slightly more challenging to the lower legs and ankles (even at zero incline)
The impact to the knees isn’t significantly different on the treadmill vs. solid ground.
Finally, remember that treadmill running eliminates all turning and much of the lateral movement that would be part of running on solid ground.
Tracking
Don’t bother using your Garmin, Apple Watch or other GPS watch to track your sessions on the treadmill. Use the distance reported by the machine you’re using. Although treadmills are not always accurate (they need to be calibrated occasionally) it will still be more accurate than your watch. A pedometer may be a decent option for tracking distance, but remember that the pedometer calculates distance using your average stride length but on the treadmill your stride is probably shorter than usual.
Injury Accommodations
Based on the stride differences above, it seems that someone with a sore achilles or calf should probably avoid the treadmill, and if the treadmill is used then the incline should stay at 0%. A runner with a sore hamstring might feel better on the treadmill.
Nicole Sifuentes is a full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. She is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Read more about her services, and schedule your free coaching consultation.
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