treadmill incline vs speed

martymum

Hi

I have sciatic pain (caused by years of lifting/standing as a nurse and being overweight) that means I can't run (grrr)

I am going to the gym 3x a week and go on the rower for 30 mins, stair climber thing for 5-10 mins and treadmill for 30 mins. I also walk 30 mins a day and am on level 2 of 30DS.

On the treadmill I increase to an incline of 10 but speed of 4mph is as fast as pain will tolerate (I can't go much faster on the flat). I do seem to be getting my hr to 75% of max.

I am hoping as I lose more weight the pain will decrease..my GP gave me one physio appt, but because it doesn't affect my life(!) I cannot get anymore.

My hope is that the muscles will strengthen and I can start C25K.

I guess my question is this..is this still a useful workout on the treadmill? Or does anyone know any more effective program I could follow?

Many thanks for answering:happy:

martyxx

Thor2020

From personal experience.....I was jogging with an incline for about 20 minutes 2 days a week....eventually I pinched my sciatic nerve because of it....according to a doctor.
I stopped the incline and eventually stopped the treadmill all together.

Now I do elliptical......no pinched nerves or anything for awhile....so you may want to try it.
To get your HR up.....increase the resistance on the elliptical....and don't worry so much about the incline.

It terms of tolerance of pain.....I'd be careful going to the brink of tolerance level....could lead to chronic pain....regardless of health or weight.

I'm not a certified anything.....just my opinion is all.

agoodman757

My recommendation is to make the inclines part of an interval workout. It confuses the muscles just enough because you are not doing the same thing every time and therefore getting a better workout. Do 2 minutes of the incline at whatever speed and then level it off for perhaps a faster walk for 2 minutes and then another incline for at least 20 minutes for a good cardio workout.

Good luck.

martymum

thanks guys

martyx