Incline on Treadmill

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fjpatten
fjpatten Posts: 27 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys!

Just wondering what incline everyone runs on to simulate outdoor running. I'm training for a half marathon in March but live in area with harsh winters so will need to take my runs indoors soon - can't risk slipping on ice.

Thanks in advance!

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  • steph2strong
    steph2strong Posts: 426 Member
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    I always keep my treadmill at 1% baseline incline. Then go up from there to simulate hills. I try and run for extended intervals at higher inclines, I find it really helps for when I get outside.
  • ABabilonia
    ABabilonia Posts: 622 Member
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    I use this as a reference only

    https://www.hillrunner.com/calculators/treadmill-pace-conversions/
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I'm interested too. I set the treadmill to 4.5 incline because I want to strengthen my stride. I see the people surrounding me going faster at 0 incline. Am I just wasting my time going with more incline? I live in Rome and walk alot with 7 hills so I want to be able to walk farther with less fatigue.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    fjpatten wrote: »
    Just wondering what incline everyone runs on to simulate outdoor running. I'm training for a half marathon in March but live in area with harsh winters so will need to take my runs indoors soon - can't risk slipping on ice

    If you're doing the majority of your training at 7 min/ mile then 1-2° can have some benefit, of you're slower than that then there is no inherent value.

  • fjpatten
    fjpatten Posts: 27 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    fjpatten wrote: »
    Just wondering what incline everyone runs on to simulate outdoor running. I'm training for a half marathon in March but live in area with harsh winters so will need to take my runs indoors soon - can't risk slipping on ice

    If you're doing the majority of your training at 7 min/ mile then 1-2° can have some benefit, of you're slower than that then there is no inherent value.

    I average an 8 min mile on my long runs. Currently when I'm on a treadmill I set the incline to 4 out of habit, beacuse a personal trainer told me to. I don't know the rationale but that hillrunner's chart was really helpful!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Keep in mind with that Hillrunners chart: the information is based on equations that estimate the metabolic cost of running and walking on level ground and at incline. Because of the differences in muscles used during running vs walking, and flat walking/running vs incline, the comparisons are not exact.

    In other words, if you are running on level ground at 8 min/mile, you might not be able to do the equivalent at incline (e.g. 9 min mile @5% (just making that up as an example)).

    In general, a .5% to 1.5% incline will work for most people (at your current speed).
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    fjpatten wrote: »
    I average an 8 min mile on my long runs. Currently when I'm on a treadmill I set the incline to 4 out of habit, beacuse a personal trainer told me to. I don't know the rationale but that hillrunner's chart was really helpful!

    Quite a lot of people do talk about the value of putting a small gradient on, but for the majority of people it has no value. At an 8 min/ mile you're approaching the point where there is some contribution. From a running coaching perspective, rather than a PT, your shoes probably make more of a difference.

    One thing I'd caution is using it consistently elevated, if you're on an HM plan I wouldn't anticipate many of your runs being less than an hour. Long period, even at low elevations, can place extra stress on the achilles and increase risk of achilles tendonopathy. The ideal is a treadmill that will also give you negative gradient as well as positive, but those are uncommon. That shows you to balance the stresses in the lower leg.
  • thebiggreenmachine
    thebiggreenmachine Posts: 66 Member
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    Unless you're running well under 6 min pace, the difference is insignificant https://www.hillrunner.com/jim2/id110.html
    If you want to make a "correction", just bump up the speed a tad, that would better than running uphill the whole time.

    One of the things people don't seem to consider is that running on a treadmill makes your body work harder to cool itself, since the heat that's coming off your body just lingers instead being removed by the wind.

    One other wrinkle to put in the equation, unless you've checked it yourself, you should never assume your treadmill is accurate.
  • VoodooChile76
    VoodooChile76 Posts: 47 Member
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    I alternate the elevations when I train on the 'mill... 1.5 to about 3... More if the race will have hills. I find the speed varies wildly depending on the brand of treadmill. I've also learned that shorter durations are better is what I'd recommend. Long distances on the 'mill are brutal (but necessary for training, I know). Good luck!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,680 Member
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    I alternate incline both to make it more interesting and to better simulate the rolling hills that I am likely to race in. Most of the time it's between .5 and 3. I don't run any races with a steeper incline than that and I don't want to risk injury to my knees. Usually I limit the steeper climbs to half a mile, since that is what I am usually running outside. A constant uphill puts a lot of stress on your body. My TM has a downhill feature as well, but I don't use it much. I will when winter comes and I'm doing long runs on the TM so that my runs will have both up and down.

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