Treadmill Running: Make it Better This Year
Author: Shannon Miller Lifestyle
We’re sure you know treadmill running is a great way exercise!
It gives you another alternative on days when the weather is not cooperating or when you are having to travel. In addition, treadmills are safe, convenient, and they are simply consistent. You get to run in a temperature-controlled environment with similar terrain and conditions every time. We love the ones with fans! Not every run has to be the same on the treadmill though. Learn how to get the most from your treadmill run.
Let’s take a look at a few tips for effective treadmill running:
- Get Ready – For a great treadmill workout, you’ll need to have all the right gear and equipment to handle the indoor temps. You will want to get your sweat on! So wearing headbands and wristbands are a good to absorb that sweat and make sure you have the proper tennis shoes on. Be sure you have a water bottle and some good tunes on the iPod.
- Warming up – Walk for 3 minutes: Start easy and build it up to a brisk walk in the last minute. Jog for 3 minutes: If you know your marathon pace, this effort is about 1 to 1.5 minutes slower per mile. Then be sure to do your cool down.The basic golden rule here is one minute for every mile run; a five-miler will net you about five minutes of easy walking.
- Focus on your Cadence (rhythm) – There are two ways to run faster: longer strides or more of the same length strides.Increased cadence is the easier part of the “running faster” equation, and a treadmill is the perfect place to get this done. You have a timer right in front of you and little else to occupy your attention. You can actually hear your foot strike and will be able to find the sweet spot for your foot placement.
- Test your fitness –The Marathon Nation Treadmill Test: After a quality warm-up, run a 3-mile time trial effort. Start with the effort you know you could run a 5K outdoors. Evaluate how you feel every 1/2 mile starting at the 1 mile mark, adjusting the pace faster/slower as needed. At the end you’ll have your new “high-end” pace and heart rate and can now begin to dial in the remainder of your regular workouts accordingly. Note the treadmill should be at about 1.5%.
- Use your incline to your advantage-Standard Treadmill Protocol (STP) is to set the incline at 1% as the baseline for all your runs. As you improve, instead of going faster, increase your base incline amount.