Treadmill: Speed vs Incline?

[XxXSnake23XxX]

Best way to lose weight?Whats your view?

[mattpiloto]

I've always found incline to be a better workout for me overall, but I think you could maybe get your heart rate higher with a flat out run. I'd try them both on seperate days and see which one does more for you.

[sexpuppet6000]

Speed + Incline FTW

[MS MSP]

whatever combination gets your heart rate where it needs to be.

I get bored running, so I run for a while at 0 incline, then walk briskly at an incline of 4.0.

[rems]

I don't get why people put an incline on the treadmill only to hold the rail. Basically they're keeping themselves from falling back by holding the rail. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of increasing the difficulty by using the incline?

[shannn]

I usually run at different degrees of hte incline...upping the incline works on differnt muscles (i.e. toning them)...so it's best to run with speed but when you incline the treadmill up the incline gradually and allow it to decrease gradually during your cooldown (at least...that helps me and gets my heart and legs/glutes going)

[Spidey]

I mix mine up every time, but doing heavy incline definitely makes you work up a better sweat than just a flat out run.

I just recently stating treadmill running again after about a 10 year absence. My wife bought one for herself so she can walk during the winter after supper, etc. and now I am using it to, since the winter has been so crappy for outside jogging.

Defintly easier to jog on a treadmill than outside. I seem to be able to go alot farther and faster than I can when you are outside powering the speed yourself, but still a good work out.

And the time sure flies when you are watching something on TV

[Mintmaster]

I don't get why people put an incline on the treadmill only to hold the rail. Basically they're keeping themselves from falling back by holding the rail. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of increasing the difficulty by using the incline?Holding the rail reduces the effort needed whether it's inclined or not, so while I agree with you, it's not specific to incline running.

However, I guess incline and/or speed will probably be more difficult than flat/slow jogging if you hold the rails in all situations.

[betheone2]

put the incline high enough to make intensity the same as regular running and then run for speed.

i have to agree that inclining and holding onto the rail is kinda ridiculous, person should just get on a stairs machine

speaking of which, if u can find flights of stairs to run, beats running any day. i did it for a while and found it dramatically improved my stamina.

[Stock R]

http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_running/run_treadmill_chart.asp

See the link for a treadmill vs real road speed conversion chart.

[poedua]

Best way to lose weight?Whats your view?

The simplest answer is - all other things being equal - the option that burns the most calories is the one that ( over the long run ) will cause you to lose more weight ( fat ).

First I'd check to see if your treadmill allows you to enter your personal info into it's display to make sure that the caloire burn number you get at the end of your workout ( as inaccurate as it is :) ) is at least relative to your weight.

So, for example, lets say you go as hard as you can ( in terms of speed ) running for 20 minutes at Incline Level 1 and the display tells you you've burned 200 calories.

Over the next few workouts, using trial and error, put the Incline Level high enough so you can only last the same 20 minutes ( i.e you are going as hard as you can ) - i.e this could be at an Incline Level of 3 or 4 or 5 etc. etc. but at a much lessor speed than running for 20 minutes at Incline Level 1 - and see how many calories you burn for the same 20 minute time period. Let's say you find out it burn 250 calories at 20 minutes at a higher incline.

To maximize fat loss over time - all other things being equal - you want to burn as many calories as possible, so in this example the 250 calorie workout is the way to go.

[poedua]

Holding the rail reduces the effort needed whether it's inclined or not, so while I agree with you, it's not specific to incline running.

However, I guess incline and/or speed will probably be more difficult than flat/slow jogging if you hold the rails in all situations.

+1

I recall reading somewhere a number of years ago that ( with respect to steppers at least ), holding the rails dropped heart rate and caloric expenditure by something like 15% - 20%. I think the ' rail effect ' was cited as being somewhat similar for treadmills as well.

Obviously, in the case of treadmills, it's when the incline is significantly high for an extended period of time and your speed plummets to a walk or jog ( accordingly ) that these rails become a very welcome way to help you endure the workout till it mercifully ends.;)

[tigger03]

http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_running/run_treadmill_chart.asp

See the link for a treadmill vs real road speed conversion chart.

That's a nice chart ... thx :cheesygri
That's a nice website ... I wanted to do some research on running.

[beerbaron105]

I don't get why people put an incline on the treadmill only to hold the rail. Basically they're keeping themselves from falling back by holding the rail. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of increasing the difficulty by using the incline?

Yes, it takes the load right off your legs doing all the work, because now your arms are supporting quite a large portion of your weight...I usually set it at an 8 incline and 2.8 speed, can get up to 125-130 bpm..however if i grab the bars i can watch my heart rate drop to about 112bpm

[Stock R]

That's a nice chart ... thx :cheesygri
That's a nice website ... I wanted to do some research on running.

That website is ok for general stuff. If you want more specific articles on running, check out the runners world magazine website. They have plenty of free articles with good info.

[poedua]

Yes, it takes the load right off your legs doing all the work, because now your arms are supporting quite a large portion of your weight...I usually set it at an 8 incline and 2.8 speed,

That's a pretty steep incline.:eek:

Do you jog or ' power walk ' ?

How long can you train at that incline and speed ?

can get up to 125-130 bpm..however if i grab the bars i can watch my heart rate drop to about 112bpm

Interesting.

It's a drop of about 15% - similar to the % drop I cited earlier with respect to steppers.

[ace05]

i'd say it really depends on you and what gets you working and sweating.

my advice, just keep upping both speed and incline to what you can do as you progress. back when i started i was only doing 2mph at around 1.5 incline for spurts of 15 mins. now, i run for 45mins to an hr straight (depending on my mood) at 5.5mph and 3 incline.