Best way to convert treadmill incline pace to equivalent flat-ground pace

Training Advice/Discussion General

8 years ago 08/12/2015 10:35am EDT

I've been trying to find a calculator/table that converts treadmill pace to the equivalent pace outdoors on flat ground. The problem is I can't find a calculator/table that goes above 10% incline. I do an interval workout most weeks at where I run 30 seconds at 15% then get off the treadmill for 30 seconds x 15 minutes x 2 sets. I've also started incline walking to minimize the pounding on my knees at 3.2-4.3 mph between 15-30% grade (it's surprisingly challenging).

This calculator seems to do a decent job at converting incline pace to flat ground pace, so I've been using that to find my "flat" pace in mph:

http://42.195km.net/e/treadsim/

Treadmills also give your power in Watts and METs when you input weight, pace, and incline. For instance, when I walk 3.2 mph at 30% grade, it says my effort is 16.7 METs. After trial and error, it says an effort of 5:51 pace (almost exactly my typical tempo pace) would also be 16.7 METs. Both efforts feel nearly identical at the end of the workout. How accurate is that conversion?

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

To summarize, I think my conversion methods are pretty accurate, but I'm sure there are more accurate calculators/tables out there. It'd be much nicer to have a convenient table like this one instead:

http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php

Does anyone know of a good incline-to-flat-ground converter for 15+% grades? Feel free to point out any flaws in the methods I've described, too, if you think they are inaccurate.

8 years ago 08/12/2015 11:21am EDT

re: 15% er

8 years ago 08/12/2015 11:53am EDT

re: 15% er

what treadmill are you using that has 30% grade?

8 years ago 08/12/2015 12:24pm EDT

re: 15% er

Yes, but how would I convert this to cycling miles and then back into my equivalent running miles for my log?

8 years ago 08/12/2015 12:30pm EDT

re: 15% er

Why are you doing so much incline? Just run faster instead. Then you won't have to worry about converting.

8 years ago 08/12/2015 1:11pm EDT

re: 15% er

The chances are the speed your treadmill reports is incorrect because your treadmill is not calibrated often enough. Even if your treadmill is calibrated when the belt is at a few percent elevation, by the time you get to 15% or more, it is slipping differently. Even if the belt doesn't slip the drag and calibration is still different at different elevations.

8 years ago 08/12/2015 3:50pm EDT

re: *&jhfsd

i want that wrote:
what treadmill are you using that has 30% grade?

They have 4 treadmills that go from -3% to 30% grades at my gym (24 Hour Fitness). Here's a picture of the model:

http://strengthindustry.com/image/data/Cardio/Treadmills/FreeMotion%20Incline%20Trainer%20/FreeMotion%20Incline%20Trainer%20FMTK7256P.jpg

Luu wrote:
Why are you doing so much incline? Just run faster instead. Then you won't have to worry about converting.

I'm doing the incline because it gets my heart rate in the aerobic zone without the pounding on my knees. Plus, I live in possibly the flattest major city in the country (Houston), so that's the only way I can simulate big hills. Power walking on a steep grade is a surprisingly challenging effort, and as my old coach used to say, hills are speed work in disguise.

*&jhfsd wrote:
The chances are the speed your treadmill reports is incorrect because your treadmill is not calibrated often enough. Even if your treadmill is calibrated when the belt is at a few percent elevation, by the time you get to 15% or more, it is slipping differently. Even if the belt doesn't slip the drag and calibration is still different at different elevations.

You're probably right that my gym doesn't calibrate the treadmills enough, but I'd imagine that's the case for almost every treadmill. How often should they be calibrated? I'll ask my gym manager out of curiosity.

8 years ago 08/12/2015 3:57pm EDT

re: 15% er

If the treadmill is pounding your knees then you should stop using it.

Use one that works or run outside instead.

8 years ago 08/12/2015 5:27pm EDT

re: 15% er

During summer base build we do 15% incline 15 min. 2min30sec. forward @ 3.5 mph 2min30sec backward running staying on forefoot @2.1 mph. Works front and back of legs equally. 3 x week. Part of strength building and injury prevention. 2 x a week we do incline workouts on treadmill during base build. I'm a big believer in utilizing the treadmill for training.

Try this calculator 42.195km.net translate to english

8 years ago 08/12/2015 5:38pm EDT

re: 15% er

why are you so concerned with the equivalent pace for flat ground? just for curiosity?

6 years ago 12/06/2017 4:17pm EST

re: 15% er

This treadmill is not great. I doubt it goes over 10% grade, which is what the picture looks like. People keep confusing percent grade and degrees. Probably because of crappy treadmills. Most people use grade as roads are calculated with.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/422012-what-is-10-degrees-in-incline-on-a-treadmill/

Percent grade: calc:

http://www.csgnetwork.com/inclinedeclinegradecalc.html

6 years ago 12/06/2017 4:27pm EST

re: Luu

Luu wrote:
Why are you doing so much incline? Just run faster instead. Then you won't have to worry about converting.

Exactly what I do.

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