- Many runners have a love/hate relationship with treadmills
but there is no denying that they're great
for time efficiency, getting a quality workout done
and avoiding extreme weather conditions.
However, over the years I have seen many mistakes
from runners on treadmills.
So today I'm here to make sure
you don't make those mistakes too.
(chill electronic music)
I have witnessed this mistake many times
and it is very tempting to skip the warmup.
Just because you're on a treadmill,
you want to be time efficient,
you're indoors, so you already feel that much warmer,
but skipping the warmup can be disastrous.
The idea of it is to make sure
that you've got your blood flow and your muscles warm,
and it's also going to help you to be able to get
the most out of that session,
so make sure you do a good thorough warmup.
Another mistake I see and quite often hear
is stomping or slapping feet on a treadmill.
Now there's no reason to run any differently
just because you're running indoors on a treadmill
than you would outside,
so take that technique that you normally have
and run exactly same when you come inside.
If you are stomping or slapping your feet,
you're going to be putting a lot more strain
up through your body.
So try to remain nice and light on your feet
and you can actually encourage your body
to lean slightly further forwards, keeping your chest up,
but leaning from your hips and that will find
you'll naturally land on the balls of your feet
slightly more.
And with that, talking about keeping your eye-line
nice and high, try to avoid staring at the dials
which are down below you
because that will encourage poor technique as well.
Running on an incline on the treadmill
might not have crossed your mind
but it's suggested that having it at a 1% incline
will help to replicate the intensity in the feel
but with the same speed of running outside.
And yes, having it at 0% might feel nice,
you might feel like you're able to run faster,
but if you want to train indoors and then help that
to transfer to your outdoor running,
it's time to bump it up.
Are you that person that does a hard and sweaty workout,
jumps off the treadmill and heads straight to the shower,
well I hope not, because you need to think
of the person who's coming on after you,
so make sure if you're doing a tough workout,
you've got a towel with you
or at least something to wipe the treadmill down thoroughly.
So the next user who comes along
can at least enjoy a clean treadmill.
As well as your towel it's a good idea
to bring a water bottle because it is going to be warm,
so you need to stay hydrated
and you're running indoors,
so it's probably a good idea to wear clothes
that are a little bit thinner
otherwise you'll find that you're wiping sweat down all day.
Now, I know we mentioned that having a bit of an incline
on the treadmill is important,
but far too often, I see people in the gym with a treadmill
whacked up to the full incline holding on to the rails.
("Funny Walks Aside" by Tiki Tiki)
Now, it's not really going to be doing
your technique any good at all.
And I know it might feel nice to hold the rails
for a little bit of stability,
but really you should have the incline
at a similar incline to a hill
that you'd be doing outside
and run the same way as you would then.
You might not be able to get a treadmill
with the exact view that you want,
but I've made a mistake of undervaluing
what's in front of your treadmill in the past.
And yes staring at a brick wall might be mentally tough
and challenging and make you stronger for your next race
but realistically, it's probably not going to help
with your training session.
So think about where your treadmill is positioned
and you can even have it in front of a mirror
if you want to watch yourself if that motivates you
or maybe a screen.
But if you do have a screen,
make sure it's at the right height,
so you're not going to be straining your neck
or changing your gait as a result.
Unfortunately, I don't have a treadmill at home
so that means that if I want to run indoors
I have to head to my local gym which is great,
although the playlist isn't necessarily always to my choice
and it's really important to have great music
for your workout, 'cause it'll help with your motivation
and also your overall performance.
So instead of relying on the music provided by the gym,
why not make a playlist that you know
is going to help you get the best
out of your workout and go prepared.
Another mistake when it comes to treadmill running
is running without a purpose
or just doing the same thing
and that's not going to be great
for your motivation or your fitness,
so you want to make sure you mix things up
and have a session plan,
so whether that's going to be a tough interval session
or maybe a recovery run,
you'll find you'll get a lot more benefit
if you go and run on the treadmill with a reason.
And finally, don't jump off the treadmill at full speed,
now it might be tempting if you've just done
a really hard rep and you need a rest,
but trust me it'll probably end in tears,
so it's a good idea to try and drop the speed gradually
so you can recover.
And also when you do get off the treadmill,
you'll find you probably got slightly wobbly legs,
so it takes a moment or two.
But if for some reason you do suddenly need
to take a break or you're doing intervals
then this is the time you can put your hands on the rails,
take your body weight and simply take your feet off
and pop them on the side.
Now this video today has not been there
to put you off running on a treadmill
and no one will judge you if you are making
any of these mistakes.
But it's more here to help you
to find more enjoyment running on a treadmill
and get more out of your training sessions,
so if after this you've still got any questions,
just drop those in the comment section below
and we'll do our best to answer them.
And if you are into using Zwift for running
or you already use it for cycling,
you want to know how to use it on a treadmill.
You want to know how?
Well, you can check that video out just down here.
And if you want some indoor training secrets
from pro Lionel Sanders, that video's just here.