Surviving the Dreadmill

Winter: it's dark outside, rainy and cold, the sidewalks are covered with ice and puddles. You really don’t feel like heading outside for a run. Summer: it's 100F and 95% humidity. Running outside will be a nightmare. What's the alternative? The treadmill again - ouch, you think to yourself . I know what I need to do and I am just dreading the moment. I guess this is why it is nicknamed the Dreadmill.

Weather aside, running on the treadmill has its advantages. Many elite athletes now incorporate at least one weekly workout on the treadmill, even if the conditions outside are ideal. Why? The running surface is more forgiving than asphalt; It allows us to maintain a consistent and controlled pace which is optimal for interval work; You can use the incline when there are no hills to be found outside, and so on. Using the treadmill correctly is KEY to maximizing your training. Here are a few tips that I collected over the years on how to take the DREAD out of the MILL and how to make your treadmill workout more than just another run.

This is the English version of my latest article in RunPanel. The Hebrew version of this post will be posted this week. As in my past blog posts, I have made some changes and modifications in this blog post.

Are we there yet?

Running on the treadmill feels harder and slower. I find myself constantly checking the treadmill screen - what? it's only been a minute? wow, this seems like eternity. Running on the treadmill reminds me of when I was a kid. Back in those days before we had smart phones and tablets. The days that road-tripping in the back of the car required us kids to entertain ourselves. My parents listening to some old song on the radio that we hated and us in the back, were bored out of our minds. Couldn't stop asking over and over again: are we there yet? Running on the treadmill is just as hard. It all starts and ends in our heads and in the said dread-mill.

So it's time to get your mind busy with something else, and here are a few ways to do it:

Get your mind busy

Location, location, location

Is one of the key rules in real estate and locating your business. It is also a key rule in the "business" of treadmill running. There is nothing worse than staring at the white wall of a gym - I believe there are other more effective ways to build mental toughness (planning to write about that soon). Even worse, for me, is constantly staring at myself running in the mirror. Every time I receive pictures from my running races, I am mortified: what this is how I look when I run? OMG. You all know that agonizing suffering face I'm talking about. So imagine staring at that for 1 hour plus. So, I prefer to chose a treadmill that is located by a window or overlooking the gym. Observing the activity outside, people watching, or staring at the TV screens. Anything that would take my mind of the fact that I am running in one place.

The ideal placement of the treadmill, but empty gym feel so lonely

Music

If in my previous post I said run without (music I mean) but feel with, here I give the opposite advice: run with music. Any music that does it for you, that gets you in the groove, in the zone and makes you forget that you are on your way to nowhere. You can go old school and create you own playlist for the occasion, or jump on the new trend and use on of the many running apps that exist these days. For example: RockMyRun, BeatBurn, Fit Radio Workout Music. These apps offer much more than just upbeat music that is great for running. They also let you pick up the tempo of your run by rpm or will automatically sync and change the tempo of the music to match the running pace. Check out this video for my favorite app to see what I mean.

Misery loves company

It's more than just a saying. It is absolutely true. Running on the treadmill together will help make it less boring. Check out treadmill classes in a gym near you, and if those cannot be easily found near you, grab a friend and hit the mill. There is nothing better than suffering together followed by an ice cold beer or protein shake (whatever makes you tick) to recover .

Indoor classes and races (thanks Khit for the photo)

Mix it up

Not only do we run in one spot, most people run on the treadmill at the same speed. In this case you really need to be careful not to fall asleep from boredom. Instead, incorporate into your run some intervals, change up the pace, the incline or incorporate strength drills. A few tips on how to optimize those in the second half of this post.

Either make them up yourself (see below for how) or use existing apps like Pear - personal fitness coach that includes interval workouts narrated by coaches, pro runners and triathletes like Matt Fitzgerald and Mirinda Carfrae. Or CardioSurprise (that incorporate 60 seconds of strength training in the run) and Runtastic. If you are into it and need more excitement in your runs and life or need someone to chase you in order for you to run fast you can always give Zombies Run a try.

CardioSurprise

Smart treadmills

Who doesn't want to run on a beach in Hawaii and feel the cold waves on your feet (of course after you finished running), but in reality your are stuck in the midst of another cold Midwest winter. The smart treadmills will help you forget it and pretend, at least for the duration of your run, that you are somewhere else. By smart treadmills I mean treadmills that allow you to chose an interactive course. On the screen you will see the scenery changing and the treadmill incline will change automatically based on the course you chose - it will feel just like running on the South Island of New Zealand.

To be in Chicago but feel in New Zealand

Those are getting more and more common in gyms around me. If you cannot find a smart treadmill in your gym, do not give up. Smart phones and tablets are here to help. Apps like TreadmillVR Max will make you feel like you are running outside but will not control the treadmill (at least not yet), this is on you. There are also movies that you can download (for a fee of course) from websites like Virtual Active.

TreadmillVR Max

The Woodway - the holy grail of treadmills

She looks a little different, bigger bones than others (treadmills, I mean). Like the Hummer of the treadmill world. I can't really point a finger at why she is so special, but when I run on her - all i need to do is set it up to the right speed and immediately my legs take me where I need to go, mile after mile (my record is 16 miles). The only problem is that like the original Holy Grail, she is rare and hard to find. This is why I need all the methods described above to survive the treadmill.

The Woodway

If we are speaking about Woodway, I have to mention the next one too. The Curve, it is the event rarer version of the Woodway. From the name you can understand that this is what's so special about it - it's curved and completely manual, no electricity is needed. You determine the speed by how fast you run and where you land on the treadmill - you are the engine. What does it mean? run towards the top of the treadmill it make it move faster and towards the back to make it slow down. No buttons. Simplicity at it's glory. The curve design is aimed to make your run more efficient by improving running form and boosting posterior muscle expenditure. It is claimed that you will burn 30% more calories just running on it. OK, now you're talking, where to I sign up?

The first time I stepped on the Curve it felt really strange. Like I was a little imbalanced as soon as the treadmill started moving under my feet. After a few minutes this strange feeling was gone and now all I can think of is where can I find one to run on all the time.

The Curve

Tips to make more of your treadmill run

Start easy

It's not about how fast you can go. Forget the all out sprint, the opposite is the way to go. Start slow and gradually pick up the pace to your running pace.

Heart Rate

Don't worry if your heart rate is higher than it is when running outdoors. The heat and small space of the indoors will have an impact. Run more by feel than by HR. Don't forget to drink as it likely you will be sweating more. I guess another advantage of running indoors is the fact that there is always room for a water bottle.

Pay extra attention to your running style

Running correctly on the treadmill is important for efficient and injury free run.

Don’t run to close to the front of the treadmill. The natural inclination is to run as close to the front of the treadmill as possible, so make sure you are at least one step back. Of course not too far back or you'll find your video being ejected off the treadmill on YouTube or some celebrity helping you get up from the floor (yes, I confess that was me on the floor).
Keep your arm swinging parallel to your body and your shoulders relaxed.
Maintain a slight forward tilt from the ankles, especially when you are running on a higher incline.
Remember to slightly shorten your stride, especially when you have the treadmill set at a 2% or higher incline.
Don't forget that you are at the gym and people are watching you so you'll get bonus points on having the right look and make sure you shoe laces are tied :-)

Thank you Mike for demostating the perfect style

The ideal interval

Intervals are an excellent way to break the monotony of treadmill running. "If you want your workout to be more efficient, build endurance, burn fat and make you faster, you need to do more than just randomly changing your speed or incline on the treadmill" explains Coach Michelle Handren of Fast & Fit Coaching in Chicago. Michelle coaches runners and triathletes using David Siik’s BITE method (Balanced Interval Training Experience). It uses the combination of the ideal amount of incline with proper speed, the perfect interval length and the right amount of active recovery. Below is a short description of those principals:

David SiiK showing us how it's done

Incline

Running uphill helps building strength and muscles and will make you into stronger runners. The incline of the treadmill is a great way to do this in a controlled way. Think about it this way: 0% incline is like running downhill and from there the only way is up. Changing the incline while maintaining the same pace, will train your legs to move faster and in the longer-term will be translate to faster running in general. The formula is simple: a 1% change in incline is worth +/-0.2mph.

Speed

Simply think about it this way: instead of an interval that is basically "lets run as fast as we can for x min and then switch to walking while struggling to catch our breath" Run at a pace that is slightly slower than that said maximum speed but make sure your recovery run is slightly faster. The two methods described above are as effective, but following the latter (the BITE way) will create less strain on your body and keeps you feeling freshers and not as sore. In addition it will help you burn more fat (score!).
The key is to determine your maximum speed for 1 minute (your personal best or PB). You should not feel out of control, but it should be challenging. Your personal best will change as you get stronger and more "treadmill fit". This is why you should repeat this test every 4-6 weeks. Between intervals your recovery should be at a speed/pace that is 50% of your PB.

Duration

The Ideal time for a treadmill interval is between 30 second and 2 minutes. Remember it can take 5-15 seconds to get up to speed so if you start changing your speed 10 seconds before the start of an interval so you won’t miss the work.

Recovery

Recovery is as important as the workout itself. Not every run will be an interval run. If you are highly motivated and would like to do intervals two days in a row - let your body rest the following day.

If you are like me and the above sounds too complicated, here is an example (it's actually quit simple):

The following workout is about 20 min long and is designed for beginners (from David Siik's book: The Ultimate Treadmill Workout)

Step 1 - determine your PB speed/pace

Warm Up: 5 min easy jog include butt kicks, high knees, arm swings (see video)