While some runners may find treadmills monotonous, longing instead for the outdoors rather than an indoor machine, treadmill exercise can be a great benefit to runners, especially during winter months that can prohibit open-air runs. Because treadmill surfaces differ from pavement and concrete, however, it is important to take certain precautions before bringing a workout indoors. With these tips, in addition to suggestions for more exciting treadmill workouts, indoor running can be both fun and invigorating for joggers through the winter months.
The Benefits Of Treadmill Running
The very things that runners complain about when lamenting indoor runs may actually be the most beneficial aspects of using treadmills throughout winter. Runners may disparage the treadmill’s predictability, longing instead for the hills, trails and unknown conditions of outdoor running. However, according to Runner’s World’s Owen Anderson (“Treadmill Workouts,” 2008), the consistency of treadmills may be one of their greatest assets. Runners can use them without accounting for icy roads and hazardous weather conditions. In addition, treadmills are designed specifically to incorporate certain elements of training, such as inclines and speed intervals. Runners wishing to add these challenges to their routines can do so with the simple push of button.
Tips for Treadmill Use
Because the surfaces of treadmills differ from pavement, and because an indoor running routine cannot account for wind resistance, runners should expect to modify their routine slightly when bringing it indoors. Their pace and speed may be different, and runners should also warm up and cool down during runs in order to adjust their bodies properly to an indoor routine.
According to the Treadmill Talk website (2006), runners should warm up at a slow speed for several minutes, and gradually increase to their desired pace. Runners who begin at their intended pace risk soreness and injury, as their muscles have not yet grown accustomed to the mechanisms of treadmill running. Cooling down post-run is essential for the same reason, rather than simply hopping off the treadmill and heading home.
In addition to pacing themselves, runners should incorporate some form of interval running to treadmill workouts, both to energize their routine and also prevent injury. To work different muscle groups and vitalize indoor runs, Treadmill Talk recommends alternating intervals of varying speed and incline. Such intervals can last anywhere between one and five minutes, and walking can also be incorporated for variation.
Treadmills are an excellent way to maintain a running routine through the winter, and runners can use them in a safe, fun way by accounting for modifications in pace, and by incorporating intervals into their routine. Though many runners lament the indoor run, treadmills are a wonderful alternative to the unreliability of winter weather.
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