Running & Jogging

Tips for Treadmill Running

Keep it safe and fun when running inside
By Christine Luff, About.com Guide Updated June 27, 2012 About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board Free Running & Jogging Newsletter! Enter email address Discuss in my forum

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T here are lots of benefits to treadmill running, and it's a great alternative for runners when weather or s afety is s ues make it impos s ible to run outs ide. Follow thes e tips to make your treadmill running more effec tive, enjoyable, and s afe. Use a slight incline. Set the treadmill inc lination to 1 % to 2 % . Sinc e there's no wind res is tanc e indoors , a gentle uphill better s imulates outdoor running. O f c ours e, if you're jus t getting s tarted with running, it's fine to leave the inc line at 0 % until you build up your fitnes s . Don't make it too steep. A t the s ame time, don't s et the inc line too s teep (more than 7 % ) - - this may lead to A c hilles tendon or c alf injuries . A ls o, don't run at an inc line of more than 2 % for your entire run. Don't hold onto the handrail or console. Some people as s ume that they need to hold onto the handrails when walking or running on a treadmill. T he handrails are only there to help you s afely get onto and off of the treadmill. When running on the treadmill, prac tic e proper upper body form by keeping your arms at a 9 0 degree angle, jus t as you would if you were running outs ide. Make sure you warm up. Run or walk at a s low, eas y pac e for 5 - 1 0 minutes . I t's tempting to jus t jump on the treadmill and s tart your workout, but you s hould allow time for a warm up. Don't f orget your cool down. I t's als o eas y to hop off the treadmill when your workout is done and your heart rate is elevated. Spend 5 minutes doing a s low jog or walk at the end of your run and allow your heart rate to go below 1 0 0 bpm before you get off. C ooling down will help prevent dizzines s or the feeling that you're s till moving when you s tep off the treadmill. Don't lean f orward. M ake s ure to keep your body upright. I t's not nec es s ary to lean forward bec aus e the treadmill pulls your feet bac kward. Y ou need to pull your feet from the belt before they are driven away by the belt. Pay attention to your st ride. Keep your s tride quic k and s hort to help minimize the impac t trans ferred to your legs . T ry to maintain a mid- foot s trike to make s ure you're not heel s triking and s ending s hoc k to your knees . Y ou may need to exaggerate the heel lift bec aus e the lac k of forward momentum means your feet won't be moving in a c irc ular path. Work on improving your st ride count . T he more s teps you take per minute, the more effic iently you'll run. E lite runners run about 1 8 0 s teps per minute. D etermine your s tride c ount by c ounting how often one foot hits the belt in a minute and then doubling that number. T ry to improve your s tride c ount during your run by foc us ing on taking s horter, quic ker s trides and keeping your feet c los e to the belt. T his exerc is e will help you deal with boredom on the treadmill and even improve your outdoor running. Listen to music. A lthough us ing headphones while running outs ide is not s afe, lis tening to mus ic on the treadmill c an be a great way to c ombat boredom and run longer. C hoos e motivating s ongs and c reate a playlis t for your workout - it will help prevent you from c ontinually c hec king the c loc k to s ee how muc h more you have to go. M ore: Beat Boredom on the T readmill Visualize a route. A nother tric k to pas s the time on a treadmill is to vis ualize an outdoor route that you frequently drive or run. P ic ture yours elf running along and imagine the buildings and other landmarks you'd pas s along the way. C hange the inc line s etting at the time you'd be heading up a hill. Don't f orget to hydrat e. Y ou c an los e even more water running on a treadmill then you would if you were running outs ide, s inc e there's little air res is tanc e to help to keep you c ool. Keep a bottle of water within eas y reac h. M ore: Running and H ydration Don't look down. I know it's hard not to c ontinually look to s ee how muc h time or dis tanc e you have left, but if you're looking down, your running form will s uffer.

D ont s tare at your feet either. Y ou're likely to run hunc hed over, whic h c ould lead to bac k and nec k pain. L ooking s traight ahead is the s afes t way to run, whether you're on the treadmill or running outs ide. Related Searches T readmill Safety I s s ues I nc lination Runners Weather Ris k