Mark Threlfall: Today, I'm going to be talking all things treadmill, motorized, non-motorized,
Bluetooth, interactive, fold up, and so on. Yes, that's right, there are a load of different
treadmills out there available to you to buy, but which one is right for your running style,
your available space, and of course, your budget. Well, I've got a load of treadmills
available for myself to run on today, which I'm going to show you and talk you through
too. I'm also going to talk you through something
that's converted myself to treadmill running, and you can use on any treadmill and that
is using the virtual running platform, Zwift. Let's get stuck in.
[music] Mark: Treadmill running is becoming increasingly
popular and for a number of reasons. They allow you to run uninterrupted, particularly
important if you live in a built up area. They allow you to run whenever regardless
of the light or conditions outside. They allow you to get quality workouts in, they allow
you to be efficient with your time. With there being so much technology available for them
or built into them, it just makes things a little bit more interesting now.
You know that. That's probably why you're watching this video. We do all have different
needs and requirements when it comes to treadmill running. With there being so many available
on the market these days, it makes deciding extremely difficult, so I'm here to help.
Let's start with the standard motorized treadmill. [music]
Mark: Here, I've got the Technogym Run Excite 600 treadmill is a pretty standard treadmill.
I imagine many of you out there have run on something very similar to this before. Now,
essentially, with these motorized treadmills, the motor powers the movement of the belt,
and then it's your job to match the speed of that belt with your legs. Pretty simple
stuff. As I'm sure you're aware, you can adjust that and the speed of that quite easily as
you're running. The lower price points, what you get is a
treadmill with slightly less power in the motor. That means that they may only be able
to go to something like 15 kilometers an hour, which may be plenty for some people out there.
As you go up the price point, that's normally reflected by the power of the motor and the
build quality. With those, you might find them going up to something in the region of
18 to 20 kilometers an hour, which is probably what you'll find on most gym treadmills.
You may get some that go up even higher than that. I'd say 18 to 20 is plenty for most
people out there and definitely enough for myself.
[music] Mark: It's definitely worth checking the top
speed of the treadmill, particularly if you're someone that is looking to do reps or intervals
at this sharp end. Personally speaking, it's this controlled pace and environment that
I've really began to enjoy. Actually, my running has really benefit from running on a treadmill.
To [inaudible 00:03:00] of that, a lot of these treadmills will allow you to adjust
the incline. Meaning you can start to emulate the outdoors
or be quite specific with your training and start including some hill work or strength
work. This one particularly goes from 0-15%, which is quite a lot [chuckles], but again,
it's something worth checking if you are someone who wants to do that. That's more or less
it with a standard motorized treadmill. It's a solid bit of kit, but if you do want to
take things up a level, you can connect it to Zwift.
As I mentioned earlier, Zwift has totally transformed my experience of treadmill running.
Essentially, with Zwift, you are running in a virtual world. You can run with a mate if
you have any, or anyone for that matter, who is running on Zwift at the same time as you,
all over the world. You can join events, chat to one another. You can even have races with
people on there. With a standard motorized treadmill, you will
actually need some additional kit to get yourself connected to Zwift because it doesn't have
Bluetooth connectivity built into it. Your options are a RunPod like this one from Zwift.
This comes in at just shy of $40. You just attach this to the laces of your shoes and
it tracks your cadence and your speed. We also have other similar devices such as Stryd,
which actually tracks your power of running too.
With that, comes a significantly higher price tag. We also have some insoles and shoes which
have a very similar technology built into them and work in the same way. Certain newer
types of the Apple Watch or sports watches as well actually have Bluetooth built into
them and can connect up to Zwift. This is a great way to try Zwift but I won't say it's
always the most accurate. Then we have this [chuckles] rather nifty
product. This is called Runn. You can pick this up from Zwift. It's a treadmill tracker,
comes in at around $99. The idea of this is you place it towards the back of your treadmill,
it can stick down. By using some markers that you place down onto the belt of the treadmill,
it can track those markers as they pass by two sensors within this product, that therefore
is tracking how fast that belt's moving, and how fast you are moving to keep up with that
belt. In theory, this is probably the most accurate
option. Then finally, we have an app for your phone, it's called Treadmill Smart Speed app.
Basically, you can set the speed on the app to whatever you're running on the treadmill
and it will ping that to Zwift itself. It's a slightly clunkier way of doing things. Obviously,
you'll have to change the speed in the app every time that you change speed on your treadmill,
but it does work. [music]
Mark: Some good options there, but it's worth noting they are not always the most accurate.
They're pretty good, but you might occasionally notice some fluctuations in pace, or the speed
and the treble not quite being exactly the speed that you're seeing within Zwift. That
said, they do provide a very good option if you're wanting to use an existing treadmill
with Zwift or you're wanting to maybe use a gym treadmill on Zwift.
Of course, you could have this Bluetooth functionality built into the treadmill from the outset,
meaning you wouldn't need any this extra kit, and making it far more accurate. Let's go
and take a look at those. [music]
Mark: Here we are at face value. They're very much the same treadmill, they're motorized,
they've got a lot of the same features and functionalities built into it, except these
also have Bluetooth connectivity built into them. If you ask someone that has really been
enjoying this virtual world of Zwift or you're just quite intrigued by it, well, the idea
of these is they will ping your data from the treadmill to the game instantaneously.
When you're running on the treadmill, you change your speed or your pace, it'll change
really quickly and really accurately within game. Without a doubt, these are the best
experience for Zwift, but obviously, with this additional feature does come a slightly
higher price tag. That said, as with the standard treadmills, these Bluetooth treadmills come
in a variety, a lot of different ranges, and levels to them.
You may actually find you're able to pick up a lower end Bluetooth treadmill for less
than that of a top end standard treadmill. Just make sure that you're not cutting any
features or functionalities that you do need. [music]
Mark: What about space? Having seen a load of your pain caves that you guys have kindly
sent in to us over the past couple years, space can quite often be a factor. For that
reason, many of you have opted for the slightly more compact and even foldable treadmills.
Not all treadmills are quite so easily moved or easy to tuck away. Trust me, having moved
a few in my time, pretty hard work. If this is something that you're after, make sure
that you do your research prior to purchasing. In terms of their features and functions,
they're still very capable treadmills. Although, it's worth noting that for them to be easily
moved, tucked away, folded up, that they can be a little less steady, which may decrease
their retail price, but perhaps also their durability. Now, there is one more treadmill
that we have yet to feature and it's on the increase in terms of popularity. That is the
non-motorized treadmill. [music]
Mark: The name says it already, there is no motor. You actually power the movement of
the belt rather than the belt dictating how fast you run. In theory, it's a little bit
like running outside with your natural fluctuations in your own pace. Now, you may have also seen
those curved treadmills. Well, that is also another option or variation of these non-motorized
treadmills. Actually, they're becoming increasingly popular.
You may well have seen those videos on social media of sprinters running at crazy speeds.
That is something that they're actually really good for because you don't actually have to
hit any buttons to change your pace or your speed. Actually, there's no max speed for
that matter. The only drawback with these-- it's actually quite commonly reported, is
that the effort required when running is significantly higher and actually, the speed displayed can
feel quite hard. Equally, some people absolutely love them.
If you do want to connect up to Zwift, you can still use those wearables or even the
Runn tread-tracker. [music]
Mark: I have exhausted all the different types of treadmills there. If you're still sat here
scratching your head, let me try one last thing, let's figure out what your ambitions
are as a runner. If you're just looking to improve your general fitness and just looking
to do some easy miles on the treadmill, well, you don't necessarily need all the bells and
whistles. If you're looking to connect up to the likes
of Zwift or any third party apps, you can still use some of those wearables I was discussing,
the foot pod, or even that run treadmill tracker, or just an app on your phone. The same applies
if you're a little bit more goal orientated, maybe have some targets in mind. The only
difference might be that you just want to make sure that that treadmill does meet your
demands. Then finally, if you are more performance
orientated, well, I would really recommend that you actually look into the Bluetooth
treadmills for that ultimate experience, or at the very least, going for the more accurate
options in Bluetooth connectivity. Such as that Runn treadmill tracker, or something
like a Stryd foot pod, and, of course, making sure that the treadmill copes with the demands
and the torture that you plan on putting it through.
That is everything that you may need to know about treadmills. I hope you have enjoyed
today's video. If so, give it a like. I'm sure many of you out there have got a ton
of experience with treadmills, maybe been through a few in your time. If so, please
feel free to drop any advice in the comment section below. I'm sure many others would
really value and appreciate that. If you are not already subscribed to GTN on YouTube,
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[00:10:55] [END OF AUDIO]