Treadmills are an amazing tool to implement into your run training. They are especially useful when it is freezing outside or it is pitch dark and difficult to run outside.  However, when getting on the treadmill, the first thing you see are all those buttons. The two main buttons are the speed buttons and the incline buttons. The speed button has a little easier to figure out, but what incline should you be using on the treadmill?  Well after doing some research and personal testing I found that running on a 1 to 2% incline is the ideal incline when running on a treadmill.  In this article, we will be breaking down all you need to know about incline on the treadmill.

What Does Incline Mean On The Treadmill?

When running on a treadmill most people know what speed means.  Simply, the more you increase the speed the faster you have to run.  However, incline is a little more tricky. A 1 or 2% on incline does not mean level 1 or level 2 but rather it means 1% and 2%.  The reason that treadmills are designed like this, is because percentages are used when categorizing the incline of hills. To give you an example, the most famous hill in San Francisco, Lombard Street, has an average gradient or incline of 27%.  This incline is so great that most cars would have difficulty driving straight up this hill. Thankfully as runners, we typically do not have to run up gradients or inclines of this magnitude. By increasing your incline on the treadmill 1 or 2%, you are increasing the gradient making your run slightly uphill.  This slight incline will help you have a more enjoyable treadmill workout.

Benefits of Using Incline on a Treadmill

1. More Realistic Running Experience

In my own personal testing, I have found that using incline on treadmill actually helps replicate a more realistic running experience.  Research shows that using a 1 to 2% incline will help simulate a more realistic running experience because this incline will account for the wind resistance that you do not get when running on a treadmill. When running outside, you are constantly pushing your body through the air while the wind is pushing you in the opposite direction. Therefore, this 1 to 2% incline will make you feel like you are running outside, while in the comfort of an indoor gym.

2. Injury Prevention

Have you ever tried to run on a 0% incline and felt like your legs were actually hurting?  During one of my most recent treadmill runs, I ran on a 0% incline and I felt like I was starting to get shin splints and other leg pains.  As a result, I tried out the recommended 1 to 2% incline and noticed that these pains started to go away. This is because when running outdoors you are usually not running on a completely flat surface.  Therefore, the 0% incline will feel almost like you are running downhill. Additionally, running downhill causes tremendous stress on your legs and joints which can cause long-term injury. These additional stresses are why your legs are more likely to start hurting when running on a 0% incline than on 1 or 2% incline.  So, for your next run make sure to slightly increase your incline to relieve this stress and prevent potential injury.

3. Increased Strength

Just like running up a hill, running on a percent incline on the treadmill is a great way to increase strength.  In addition to a 1 or 2% incline, most treadmills can go up to a 10% or 12% gradient. This gradient range is sufficient enough to help you get a great hill workout while on the treadmill.  Running uphill requires more oxygen intake which will help your overall endurance. Additionally, running on an incline requires your muscles to work harder and will build more strength in your legs as compared to a 0% incline.  After implementing hill workouts into your running schedule, running on flat ground will feel like a breeze. Therefore, by running on a percent incline on the treadmill, you will build strength in your legs that will help you run stronger and faster.

Downsides to Using Incline On The Treadmill

1. Injury Possibility

Using the incline function on the treadmill can be very beneficial, however, there are also some downsides that you should consider before your next workout.  Using the recommended 1 to 2% incline on most workouts will help reduce possible injury, but if you increase this gradient too much then you will put yourself at risk of injury.  For long run workouts, you want to stay within this recommended incline range. In general, you will want to stay away from the higher-end percentages such as 10 to 12%. If you happen to do a workout that requires these percentages, make sure you listen to your body and do not run on these high gradients for an extended period of time. 

2. Shorter Workout

Similarly to running uphill outdoors, running on an incline can cause you to become tired faster.  Again, you will want to make sure you’re using the recommended 1 to 2% incline. This incline range is not steep enough to cause you to become significantly tired has compared to a 10% or 12% inclines.  In many situations, this recommended incline allows you to run longer because your legs will not hurt as much as the simulated 0% downhill slope. However, once you get above a 2% incline, this gradient will start to make your legs more tired and can result in a shorter workout.  If you are training for a long-distance race, you will want to maintain a low percent incline so that you can maximize your long run workout.

3. Less Speed Training

In addition to a shorter workout, increasing your treadmill incline will cause you to run slower.  If you’re trying to work on your speed and turnover, you will want to be cautious of how much incline you are using.  A key tip to remember is that the higher the incline you run at, the slower your turnover will be. Even as little as a 0.5 increase on incline can cause your turnover to become much slower.  If you decide to do a workout with a high percent incline, make sure to also incorporate a fast, low percent incline into your workout. This will allow your legs to build strength on the uphill section while also getting them used to a faster turnover.

The Perfect 24 Minute Treadmill Workout Using Incline

While there are many great treadmill workouts, I have found an amazing workout that combines hill and speed training.  The nice thing about treadmill workouts is that they could be tailored to your specific speed and running level. Use the recommended workout below and adjust it to your personal speed and effort level.  Each time you do this workout try to increase your speed in each section to get faster over time.

Table 1. The Perfect 24 Minute Treadmill Workout

Verdict

When running on a treadmill, the recommended percent incline is 1 to 2%.  This incline range allows you to simulate an outdoor run by using treadmill gradient to account for the amount of wind resistance you would experience while running outdoors.  As long as you avoid extremely high incline percentages, using incline on the treadmill will help you build strength while also giving you a realistic running experience.

As a runner, have you ever been injured or wanted to substitute a running workout with bike workout?  Recently when training for my most recent half marathon training, my legs were tired but I still wanted to maintain my fitness.  I decided on a bike ride as a substitute, however, I wondered how many miles on my bike ride would equal one mile running? After doing research through multiple scientific papers and studies, 1 mile running approximately equals 3 miles cycling at equivalent effort levels.  Let’s look into some things to consider when replacing a running workout with cycling / biking and a comparison table to help you understand your cross-training workout.

Running Miles to Biking Miles Conversion Table 

For your next bike / cycling workout, we have created an easy to follow Running Miles to Biking Miles Conversion Table.

Figure 1. Running Miles to Biking Miles Conversion Table

3 Benefits of Replacing a Run With a Bike Workout

1. Injury Prevention

One of the greatest benefits to doing replacing a run workout with a bike workout is the injury prevention.  Because biking or cycling is a low impact sport as compared to running, it allows your joints and bones to recover from your running training.  During your runs you are constantly impacting your legs and body each time you take a stride. This repetitive impact causes muscles to become fatigued and results in a higher chance of injury.  Replacing one of your run workouts with a bike ride can allow your muscles to recover from this impact.  

2. Improved Fitness

Another great benefit of implementing cycling cross-training into your running training schedule is that it can improve your fitness.  There are multiple factors of bike cross-training that can improve your running. One of these factors is that because cycling is a low-impact sport you can combine your running workout with a cycling workout.  By implementing cycling into your run training schedule you can build muscle and endurance with methods other than running. Although it is similar, cycling actually utilizes muscles differently than running. The motion of pushing and pulling uses highly uses quadriceps and hamstrings.  This will build strength and help improve endurance.

3. Active Recovery

Active recovery is an important component in running training.  Active recovery is when you recover while being active rather than just resting.  This is especially effective when you are feeling fatigued and want to maintain your fitness.  Instead of completely taking the day off of running, you could do a beneficial cycling workout while letting your muscles recover from running impact.  Many studies show that active recovery can actually be more beneficial than static recovery because more blood will flow to your muscles and allow for faster recovery.  Make sure to listen to your body when determining the effort level of your cross-training.

3 Key Differences Between Run and Bike Training

1. Lower Body Workout

There are some differences to consider when substituting a cycling workout for a running workout.  Although running seems like purely a lower body workout, it is actually a whole body workout. When running you are constantly engaging your core, abs, and arms.  Conversely, biking utilizes mainly your lower body and does not build as much arm or core strength. If you plan on doing a bike workout in place of a running workout, it is beneficial to implement some core exercises to maintain your overall fitness.

2. Different Leg Muscles Used

As discussed previously, cycling uses muscles differently than running.  Because of this, you have to be cautious of not replacing too many workouts with cycling workouts because your body may start to build muscles more closely associated with biking.  Additionally, because the muscles used are not identical to running, the running-to-cycling ratio of 1:3 miles is not perfectly correlated. However, these cycling workouts are still beneficial to your running fitness.

3. Outdoor Biking vs Stationary Biking

One consideration that is not commonly addressed is the difference between outdoor biking and stationary biking and how that affects the running-to-cycling ratio.  In outdoor biking, there are many times you are able to use your momentum (without pedaling) to move. Whereas, stationary biking required you to pedal constantly without many breaks.  Comparing this to running, you are not able to move without striding. Therefore, stationary biking is more closely representative of running due to the constant leg motion.  Additionally, the running to cycling 1:3 mile ratio more representative with stationary biking. 

How To Determine The Best Pace for Cross-Training

So, you may be asking yourself what is the best way to determine the pace I should go for cycling cross training.  Because running and cycling paces do not correlate directly, it is more effective to use effort levels. Therefore, if this is a recovery ride you should be pretty comfortable to moderate pace.  Listen to how your body is feeling to determine your effort level. If your legs are tired from the workout in the previous day’s you should take it easy on your cross-training. One thing to keep in mind for cross-training is that you do not want to push yourself too hard.  Cross-training is mainly used for recovery or supplemental training. For beginners you should try to make this area of training the fun part of it. A helpful tip is to find some training partners and do your cross training together. This works especially well because no matter how advanced you are, you are able to train together.  So, for your next cross-training adventure grab a training buddy get a great workout on the stationary bike.

Verdict

One mile running is equivalent to approximately three miles cycling or biking.  As long as you consider the slight differences between the two workouts, the 1:3 running-to-cycling ratio is effective in calculating the equivalent mileage of your next cycling cross-training workout.