Many people think of treadmills as monotonous. It's dubbed the "dreadmill" for a reason. However, the treadmill can provide some extremely efficient, challenging, and effective calorie-burning workouts with a decent amount of variety that you'll never get bored. Furthermore, the treadmill can help you become a stronger, faster runner, cyclist and multisport athlete by improving your endurance, power, and speed especially when heading outside to run is not an option.
Believe it or not, you can get an effective treadmill workout that can burn a lot of calories without spending a lot of time on the machine. The problem is that most people have the speed, incline and overall intensity far too low to gain any noticeable changes, thus it being called the dreadmill. The key is finding a routine that keeps you engaged while gradually increasing intensity so that you begin to see results.
One of the first things to remember when using the treadmill is that outdoor running and indoor running are totally different. Because of this, you may need to consider a different running shoe for the treadmill than what you normally wear running outside on the pavement (or trail). Treadmills have a softer surface than pavement. Also, you aren’t adjusting your feet to various twists and turns while running on the treadmill as you would running outside. However, due to the treadmill’s belt pulling underneath, your feet will strike in a different manner than they would strike on solid pavement. While most runners usually wear the same shoes that they run in outside, you may want to think about choosing a lightweight pair of shoes that have a little less cushioning since the running surface of a treadmill is softer than most outdoor surfaces. Consult with your local running specialty store to determine the best fit for you on the treadmill.
Before you start your run on the treadmill, start with some pre-run dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching isn’t about holding a stretch for an extended period of time as you would with static stretching, but rather taking your body through various ranges of motion to prepare you for your workout. Furthermore, a good warm-up increases the blood and oxygen flow to your muscles, tendons, and ligaments as well as your body’s range of movement before running. Try the following for 30 seconds on both sides:
Butt Kicks
Leg Swings
Knee Raises
Arm Circles
After your pre-run warm-up, start by walking at an easy pace, around 2.0 mph, for one minute. Continue warming-up with an easy jog, around 3.0 or 3.5 mph, for 5 minutes. This should be at a conversational pace that will get your blood pumping and your muscles warm and ready for a workout.
Once you have finished warming up, it’s time for the real fun to begin. The primary advantage of running on a treadmill is that the experience can be controlled. It provides a great opportunity to play around with different running positions to find that perfect feel. Start by setting treadmill inclination to 1 or 2 percent. Increasing the incline can simulate the type of resistance you encounter when running outside since there is no forward motion when you run indoors. Of course, it's fine to leave the incline at zero percent but note that the effort will not be the same as running outside on a level road at the same chosen pace. Increase the incline to 4 percent if you want to simulate a hilly run.
To get the most of your time on the treadmill and avoid boredom, skip long (distance or time) runs in favor of short, 20 to 30-minute, interval runs two or three times a week that range from moderate to vigorous. Interval workouts on a treadmill are simple and straightforward. They will help you become stronger and faster by going at a comfortable pace for a certain period of time (recovery) and then cranking it up for another period of time (burn calories while improving aerobic fitness). If you search Google, you ‘ll see that there are plenty of examples of interval workouts on the treadmill that you can try out and even adjust to fit your specific goals.
Just as you would if you were running outside, focus on practicing proper running form when on the treadmill. Try to land with a mid-foot strike to reduce impact to your lower legs, knees, and hips. Make sure your strides are normal as if you were running on pavement. Keep your arms at a 90-degree angle and by your side while they move, not crossing your body. Arm swings should feel natural. Your shoulders should be relaxed and your body upright to avoid being tense and slouching forward. Your chin should be parallel to the ground and your eyes forward, not looking down. Engage your abs as you run. Ultimately, the goal is to avoid causing your running form to suffer, which minimizes your results and possibly lead to back and neck pain.
A final small but important thing to remember is that the handrails are only there to help you safely get on and off of the treadmill and when you initially start the tread moving. Don’t use the handrails to support your body weight with your arms. Holding onto the handrails while running on the treadmill is a bad habit that effectively reduces the benefits of running on the treadmill.
After you finish running, you should properly cool-down. The purpose of the cool-down is to bring your heart rate down so that your breathing recovers to a normal rate and your body begins with the recovery phase to avoid your muscles tensing up thus causing soreness. Similar to your warm-up, reduce your speed every one to two minutes to an easy pace and walk for about five minutes. Once you have cooled down, turn the treadmill off and use it for some quick static stretches that will help loosen up tight quads, glutes, lats, and hamstrings:
Post-Run Stretch
Hamstring Stretch
Quad Stretch
Glute Stretch
Lat Stretch
As you can see, the treadmill doesn’t have to be boring. Treadmills allow you to train at a consistent pace as well as serve as a way to use intervals to get fit and lose weight. This alternating between set periods of high intensity sprinting and recovery can boost metabolism, increase strength, and improve speed which ultimately helps you become a faster and stronger runner and multisport athlete.