I used a treadmill for a while and discovered that it didn't help me get faster at all. I've avoided them since, but it is getting very cold and I may need to run inside a times. Does treadmill interval training work for you? I may have been doing it wrong.
Yes. I run on my treadmill about 75% of the time and my results on the road are equal to or better than running outside. I do it all; intervals, tempos, long runs in the cool comfort of my fitness room.
I live in the midwest where it can be pretty rough through the winter so I do a lot of training on the treadmill if I have a spring marathon. I have found that I can do almost all my threshold and tempo training on the treadmill and it will translate about 95% to the roads. For me it is always a little easier to hit paces in that range on the treadmill (probably due to the treadmill I'm using in the gym being inaccurate) but I think it's more important to emphasize the effort rather than exact splits.
It transfers better than no interval training at all. If the weather is suck and you don't have indoor track access, its kind of a moot point how well it transfers. If you have to run indoors all winter, plan on running fast in May, not March.
It works great if you have a coach who knows how to use the treadmill perfectly.
I myself won the Gothenburg Sylvestre race on New Years Eve 1988 in a time of 31:27 min @ 10, 55 km ( quarter marathon, 2:58 min / km) on just only( 99%) treadmill running.🇸🇪🧙♂️🇸🇪
It works great if you have a coach who knows how to use the treadmill perfectly.
I myself won the Gothenburg Sylvestre race on New Years Eve 1988 in a time of 31:27 min @ 10, 55 km ( quarter marathon, 2:58 min / km) on just only( 99%) treadmill running.🇸🇪🧙♂️🇸🇪
I now so many years after realise I did alot of threshold intervals then on the treadmill without knowing it really was lactate threshold intervals. Was in the best shape ever in my career ......🇸🇪🧙♂️🇸🇪
The difference is that when running outdoors, you’re projecting yourself forward, and while on the treadmill you’re doing so in relative terms to keep yourself from flying off the back.
That said, apparently there’s a little bit of a difference in hamstring activation because the belt is pulling your foot back.
I used a treadmill for a while and discovered that it didn't help me get faster at all. I've avoided them since, but it is getting very cold and I may need to run inside a times. Does treadmill interval training work for you? I may have been doing it wrong.
Why do you think it would not? An issue might be if you never run on the roads then I could see an issue (the pounding, crown of the road, or ups and downs) but largely no.
The difference is that when running outdoors, you’re projecting yourself forward, and while on the treadmill you’re doing so in relative terms to keep yourself from flying off the back.
That said, apparently there’s a little bit of a difference in hamstring activation because the belt is pulling your foot back.
My gut tells me that difference in activation is so small that it would be lost in noise if measurable at all.
The difference is that when running outdoors, you’re projecting yourself forward, and while on the treadmill you’re doing so in relative terms to keep yourself from flying off the back.
That said, apparently there’s a little bit of a difference in hamstring activation because the belt is pulling your foot back.
My gut tells me that difference in activation is so small that it would be lost in noise if measurable at all.
Agree but it makes Instagram gurus appear knowledgeable.
I used a treadmill for a while and discovered that it didn't help me get faster at all. I've avoided them since, but it is getting very cold and I may need to run inside a times. Does treadmill interval training work for you? I may have been doing it wrong.
I've done 90% of my intervals on treadmills, and it' tracked 100% towards meeting my goal paces in a race. I will note, I do a lot of hard running on roads also. But speed work has often been on the tread. This is likely due to me taking up running by accident, just trying to lose pounds, at the gym, before work.
Look at your heart rate. If it is getting up as high on the treadmill as it would if you were running intervals on a track, then you are getting the same benefit.
On a cautionary note, don't move to the treadmill too abruptly. I have gotten injured by not doing any treadmill running at all and then running several days in a row on the treadmill when a cold spell hits.
It has worked for me. All intervals on the treadmill for years, even in summer >> numerous sub3 marathons in my 50s. It has always seemed to me that treadmill running is harder than running outside. Maybe that is why it works!
I love treadmill running, and I think it really helped me during my peak running years. But don't mess around with zero percent grades unless you're just trying to work on leg speed, as you might with downhill running. In general, you should do treadmill running at a grade of at least 1.5-2.0%. Also, much steeper grades of 11.0-12.0% up to 20.0% (most commercial treadmills top out at something like 15.0%) are terrific for brutally tough metabolic and cardiovascular stress without the attendant musculoskeletal stress and neuromuscular coordination required during flatland running, and you also avoid the stresses of downhill running required during hard hill workouts outdoors.
Yup, at least in the winter when it's cold/icy/snowy.
I find it to be most beneficial for things like tempo and progression runs where you aren't changing the pace or at least not in big jumps. Since it takes time for the belt speed to adjust when you change it, I stay away from intervals where there's a huge swing in 'on' vs 'off' pace or lots of frequent changes. For example doing 10x400m w/ recovery jogs would be awful, but doing 5:00 on, 5:00 off or like 6x mile is totally fine. I just try to remember that thanks to calibration and lack of wind treadmill pace != road pace and go by effort.
I have occasionally seen people doing hard/fast/short intervals on treadmills by setting the belt at the speed they want while standing with their feet on the rails and then getting on by supporting their weight on the arms while syncing their feet to the belt before taking their hands away (and doing the reverse to get off the belt at the end of the interval). That way you can get 'instant' speed like you would on a track. Kind of dangerous though so I'll bet most gyms might ask you not to do that.
It works great if you have a coach who knows how to use the treadmill perfectly.
I myself won the Gothenburg Sylvestre race on New Years Eve 1988 in a time of 31:27 min @ 10, 55 km ( quarter marathon, 2:58 min / km) on just only( 99%) treadmill running.🇸🇪🧙♂️🇸🇪
Do you know any?
Because the magic coach is able to make your fast times disappear