Treadmill Training

Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
myTreadmillTrainer.com

Runners are quite a unique species. Even when the rest of society is tucked away under their blankets in the depth of winter, runners are out pounding the snow-covered pavement to ensure they stay on track with their running workouts.

But maybe you're like me and don't enjoy running in the snow or cold weather. That's where the treadmill can be quickly become your best friend.

Treadmill workouts are great because they allow complete control over your pace and force to run at the speed you've chosen. There's something reassuring about knowing that you don't have to worry about having to think about how fast your running. It's true peace of mind.

For beginners, this can be a valuable asset as you can better manage your workouts and see quicker results than you may have outdoors.

Using a treadmill can also be highly valuable for running faster through the use of the machine's incline feature. When you run hills outdoors, you are eventually forced to come back down. Not only does this limit how long you can push yourself uphill, but the downward run puts a lot of stress on the knees, quadriceps, and calves.

However, a constant inclination on the treadmill allows you to run hills for as long or as short as you want, without the need to return to your starting point. Steeper inclines also force your body into a more natural sprinting motion, allowing you to drive your knees and land on the balls of your feet - instead of your mid-foot or heels - which forces your body become more explosive with each stride.  

With that being said, here are 3 treadmill workouts that you can use to get in great running shape if you don't feel like braving it outside in the winter months.

To produce greater results in less time, these workouts are based on interval training. That means that they feature a bout of higher intensity (ie. fast run) followed by a bout of lower intensity (ie. jogging). This sequence is then repeated several times throughout the workout.

Because interval training provides recovery bouts, it allows you to spend more time running at faster speeds than you would otherwise in steady pace runs. A great feature if you are looking to become a faster runner.

Beginner Treadmill Workout

4 minutes jogging @ 75% max speed : 1 minutes fast run @ 90% max speed x 5 = 25 minutes

Intermediate Workout

2 minutes jogging @ 75% max speed : 2 minutes fast run @ 90% max speed x 6 = 24 minutes

Advanced Workout

1 minutes jogging @ 75% max speed : 3 minutes fast run @ 90% max speed x 5 = 20 minutes

One thing to keep in mind while running on the treadmill is that for some reason most gyms put a 30-minute timer on the machine to prevent people from overstaying their welcome. So as you approach the 30-minute mark of your session be sure to get ready to slow down so that you don't get thrown off the treadmill! Not that that's ever happened to my knowledge, but it's good to know nonetheless.

A final consideration with running on the treadmill is that it can never really replicate running outdoors. Realize that your first few sessions back outdoors will be more challenging. This happens because the body adapts specifically to how it is trained. The lack of wind resistance and unpredictable terrain makes the treadmill a more controlled training environment, and thus your body adapts.

Nonetheless, if you want to avoid the winter "nasties", then the treadmill is a fantastic training tool!

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