How accurate are treadmill distance/speed?

nytrifisoul
nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Mine must be way off. I have a trimline nautilus t350hr. My power walking speed is 4mph max. Im almost tripping running at 6mph. Outside i walk 2 miles and 2 miles back (used mapquest to calculate route) And it takes me between 45-50 minutes. Thats over 4mph and i dont feel im walking nearly as fast as i do on my treadmill. Same with running. I ran aside my uncle riding his bike and he said i was running 7-8mph the entire time.

Do all treadmills under estimate speed/distance? Or does mine need calibration?

Replies

  • liberalchick
    liberalchick Posts: 6 Member
    I have an old treadmill and my settings are off too. I started going outside more and noticed the difference. Started logging my times and quickly figured out the treadmill was an evil liar trying to kill me. lol.

    Before I even started going outside I had friends, who run faster than me and compete, get on it and they all agreed it was messed up.

    I'm not bothering to fix mine, I don't know how and really just go by time at this point anyway. I can judge my pace pretty well on my own so I just go with it. I'm not looking to speed up or train for anything though, if I was I'd fix it or try to go outside more.

    I know what you mean by tripping on the speed. Set mine to just 5mph and you will go flying off!
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    Well,....I walked 4 miles on my treadmill at 4mph today.....It took exactly 60 minutes...lol

    Here is my theory. My outside route has a few hills. I believe that on the incline i may be walking 3-3.5mph, and on the decline im probably walking closer to 5mph and is why im finishing those 4 miles under an hour.

    I still believe there is something with trying to keep up with the belt that makes it harder on people with short legs (myself) versus others with longer legs.
  • liberalchick
    liberalchick Posts: 6 Member
    I have short legs too!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I'm not sure what our qualifier is for short vs long legs...I think mine are pretty long considering my height (5'7") and I definitely have more of an issue with walking (or running) on the treadmill than outside. I can do 4mph walking outdoors no problem but if I try it on the treadmill it feels way too fast! I hate the treadmill!
  • liberalchick
    liberalchick Posts: 6 Member
    I have an inseam of 28 inches. That is short. lol. When I'm in a hurry the little legs go pretty fast!
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    I have an inseam of 28 inches. That is short. lol. When I'm in a hurry the little legs go pretty fast!

    We have the same length. It sucks trying to find 30/28 mens pants.
  • liberalchick
    liberalchick Posts: 6 Member
    I'm a woman but still have a hard time finding jeans. I can sew though. Most dry cleaners do alterations. It's usually about $10 or so to have pants done.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    I'm a woman but still have a hard time finding jeans. I can sew though. Most dry cleaners do alterations. It's usually about $10 or so to have pants done.

    Yes I was aware you were female, I just was tring to point out that in mens sizes my perfect fit is a 29-30 waist and 28 length which is damn near impossible to find locally. I usually have to settle for 30/30 which is alittle baggy, but luckily it was a style back when i was in school.:laugh:
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
    Well,....I walked 4 miles on my treadmill at 4mph today.....It took exactly 60 minutes...lol

    Here is my theory. My outside route has a few hills. I believe that on the incline i may be walking 3-3.5mph, and on the decline im probably walking closer to 5mph and is why im finishing those 4 miles under an hour.

    I still believe there is something with trying to keep up with the belt that makes it harder on people with short legs (myself) versus others with longer legs.

    I think that the varying pace of outdoors is more natural. Humans are not machines. We like variance, we don't like keeping at exactly the same pace.
    I find I run faster and easier off a treadmill than I do on one. Doesn't matter if it is a flat track, or normal semi hilly streets.
  • Amberlynnek
    Amberlynnek Posts: 405 Member
    Get a heart rate monitor, its the only way to accurately track cals burned.
  • Luv2Smile55
    Luv2Smile55 Posts: 133 Member
    I absolutely love my treadmill but I do agree, 4 miles an hour on the treadmill seems much faster than 4 miles an hour outside. I have a brand new gym quality treadmill so I'm pretty sure it's accurate. :smile:
  • Montarosa456
    Montarosa456 Posts: 133
    I think it's very hard to find a treadmill that is exactly correct on miles/calories burnt...
    It's very easy for people to start running/power walking inside and then be horrified when they try that distance/pace outside..
    Treadmills don't take in the fact that it's almost impossible to find long distances that are completely flat and naturally we vary more outdoors..
    All in all treadmills can over or under read..For your true pace go outside :)
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 499 Member
    Get a heart rate monitor, its the only way to accurately track cals burned.

    I have a Suunto t3c. I never said i was trying to calculate calories. If you actually read my post you would of known this is about the accuracy of speed/distance on treadmills versus outside walking/jogging/running.
  • judge69
    judge69 Posts: 13
    hi, it's not your treadmill that is faulty, this just the way they work. outside i run about 6mph on the treadmill i do 5mph, my husband who is a lot fitter than me finds it the same. got something to do with the continuous movement of the belt. personally i love my treadmill ad do all my running on it now. love messing with speeds and inclines:wink:
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Simple answer.... not as accurate as walking/running down a proper road.

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