Treadmill or Dreadmill? | Podcast ep 17

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Treadmill or dreadmill? The debate among runners could go on and on. Whether you love or loath stationary running, there are times training on the treadmill can be beneficial and ways to do it well.

In this week’s episode we have a deep-dive treadmill talk.

The World of Running

Donavan Braizer runs the second-fastest 600m race in history at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.

Diamond League cuts these events: 200m, 3000m Steeple, discus, and triple jump.

World Champion high jumper from Russia threatens to file lawsuit against the Russian athletics body RusAF.

Main Topic: Treadmill or Dreadmill?

No matter how tough we are or how much we dislike running on the notorious “dreadmill” it can be a place to prevent and recover from injury.

Understanding the strengths and faults of tread-milling can help us to better grasp our training and plan accordingly.

In this episode we talk about

  • Reasons to run on the treadmill
  • Best practices for running on the treadmill
  • How to make running on the treadmill interesting
  • & Things to avoid when running on a treadmill

Whether you are running outside or indoors we are here to cheer you on.

And while you’re here, check out the new living AtoZrunning dictionary! We also have a fun treadmill workout for you to try.

(Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!)

Follow @atozrunning on Instagram & Facebook.

2 replies
  1. Sage Davis
    Sage Davis says:

    Any advice you’d give to someone who is new to running and looking for a treadmill? Must-have features or things they should look for in buying a used one?

    Reply
    • Andi & Zach
      Andi & Zach says:

      Main couple things for treadmills are: (1) max speed (needs to be above 10mph, generally preferably 12 so that the motor can handle the higher end stuff you might do – even if you never run above 10mph), (2) deck length (longer is better, even though it increases the footprint of the treadmill – short deck lengths are made for walking and often become dangerous for running), (3) deck weight limit (recalling that impact forces increase real weight up to 2.5x with each foot strike, you need a treadmill deck that can handle significant impact forces and weight, regardless of whether your actual body weight – again, treadmills made for running specifically account for this, but many walking-oriented ones do not).
      Personally, we enjoy the NordicTrack and Precor treadmills the most, but there are plenty of good brands out there.
      *A note about used treadmills: find out as much info as you can about how hold, how much it was used, what it was used for, how long it went unused, etc. (used treadmills often come from gyms or hotels and are almost always a bad deal when that is the case). Expect to pay 1,000-2,500 for a good treadmill, a little less if it is used.

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