MASTER THE TREADMILL

Harvard graduate Dr. Casey Kerrigan is an expert on run gait and treadmill running. Here are her top gym-running tips

A treadmill should be a staple of your spring and winter training. Not only does it defy the elements, it also offers a certain amount of compliance or springiness, which helps to reduce peak forces through the joints and so lower the potential of injury. So how can you maximise your treadmill time?

Firstly, there’s a mistaken belief that setting a slight incline on the treadmill replicates running on the streets. This isn’t true, with one seminal treadmill study from the Journal of the American Medical Association (Zeni et al, 1996) revealing that there are no significant biomechanical differences between running on a moderate incline or a level treadmill surface. That is, the peak stresses on your knees and other joints are the same whether you run on an incline or not.

It’s true that running on a treadmill is slightly easier than running over-ground outdoors (because of compliance as well as the lack of air resistance), but increase speed rather than incline. The incline is an added variable that’s very inconsistent between different treadmills.

The reason for this variability between treadmills in gyms lies in how the treadmill is mechanically jacked and supported when in an incline position.

You should also set the treadmill to ‘manual’ as this gives you more control over how much you push yourself. You want to listen to your body not the machine. That said, studies have shown that listening to music that features a strong beat, like hip hop and rock, boosts motivation and, subsequently, the quality of the run workout.

I personally discourage listening to music while running outside on the streets, though, since headphones can make you oblivious to cars, bicycles, pedestrians, and other potential dangers.