The 8 Best Treadmills for Runners

Health - Injuries Running Times, those workouts represent only a fraction of the good sessions our panel recommended.

Below you will find four more workouts sure to keep you stimulated all winter long.

Workout #4: AlterG Overspeed (The Four I’s Workout)
Short intervals increasing speed each repetition

Marius Bakken, Norwegian record-holder in the 3,000m and 5,000m, coach at www.marathon-training-schedule.com

One of the best ways to decrease the monotony of treadmill running is by injecting a stimulus of some type during the run. This is one reason why intervals, tempos, and hill workouts are all quite popular indoors. But why not take this to its logical extreme and have something changing every minute?

“I always suggest intervals when doing treadmill running,” Bakken says. “In many cases [continuous runs] give the muscles too much of a static or monotonous impact.” One of Bakken’s favorites is a run where the pace is increased every repeat by the tiniest of margins. Not only does it take the body through most of the physiological zones, Bakken says, but it keeps the mind plenty stimulated.

“I never run with music or anything on the hard runs,” he says, “I just like to get a ‘feel’ for pace and the pain one experiences when pushing hard.”

Your Turn: Starting at a pace that’s barely distressing (perhaps 30 seconds slower than marathon pace), run 1 minute then back off to a recovery pace for 30 seconds. On the next interval, move the speed up 0.1 miles per hour. Continue increasing the speed each interval (while maintaining the same rest period) until you’re running close to your 5K pace. Once you’ve hit a speed that you can no longer sustain on 30 seconds recovery, your workout is over.

“If you go 30–40 repeats you'll move through almost all kinds of paces,” Bakken says.

Variations of this workout abound. To make it more challenging, remove the rest period and continue running 1-minute segments until you can go no faster. To make it longer, consider changing it into a pyramid workout, where you come back down in pace at those same 0.1 mph intervals after you’ve reached your maximum speed. If you still need a challenge, consider changing the treadmill’s gradient.

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Pete Pfitzinger, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Academy of Sport, two-time U.S. Olympian

The track has any number of advantages when it comes to running. With good footing, precise measurement and clear markings, not to mention a fast surface, the track offers the ability to quantify a workout like few other places. But unless your venue has recently been rocked by an earthquake, it’s unlikely many hills exist at your local 400m oval.

Since most post-collegiate runners take to the roads, and because very little of the world is truly pancake flat, this is one place where the treadmill truly shines. “You can vary the gradient to match any terrain,” Pfitzinger says. “You can [also] manipulate the gradient and speed to get in training with less risk when recovering from some injuries.” With that in mind, Pfitz likes to prescribe his runners a good dose of workouts that simulate their upcoming races.

Your Turn: Using an upcoming race’s website or www.mapmyrun.com, study the course’s topography. Then perform intervals that closely mirror what you will encounter on race day.

For instance, say the 5K course is constantly rolling with short hills that are generally around 3 percent gradient, and you planned on doing 6 x 800m (or roughly 3 minutes) as a prep workout. On the treadmill, spend the first minute of each interval running at a 1 percent grade (to offset wind resistance) to simulate the flat portion of the course, then crank the treadmill’s gradient up to 3 percent for the next minute, before lowering it to 0 percent for the final minute (which will best simulate downhill running). Another option might be 4 x 5 minute intervals, with the first minute flat, the next two uphill, and the last two flat again. The options are as limitless as the courses you choose to race on.

Please note that you may have to adjust the treadmill’s speed to maintain a steady effort. On the positive side, come race day those hills won’t seem nearly as daunting.

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Magdalena Lewy Boulet, 2008 U.S. Olympian (Marathon), 2011 Falmouth Champion

Short races are far from the only courses that have varying terrain. Boston and New York, two of the most popular marathons in the world, are hilly to say the least, never mind the hundreds of local marathons in the U.S. that feature even more challenging terrain. To succeed at the distance requires a combination of mental fortitude and physical preparedness that is hard to attain. To Lewy Boulet, the treadmill gives her a chance to practice both skills.

“Treadmill running to me is not a very exciting thing; I’d rather be on the trails any time of the day or night,” she says. “It takes practice to be able to get on the treadmill and be on it for a long period of time. When I haven’t been on it for a long time, I don’t last as long mentally and emotionally. I want to get off it and do something else. I think you do learn to deal with the very tedious type of work. And that’s what the marathon is and you need to learn to embrace it. It’s something that for most people doesn’t come naturally, but it’s a good idea to practice as well.”

Lewy Boulet was forced to take this practice to a new level in preparation for the 2008 Olympic marathon trials. Ill with bronchitis that was exacerbated by running outdoors, Lewy Boulet faced some of her most challenging marathon training runs indoors.

“Being in a warm, humid garage was very friendly to my lungs,” she says. “I was able to get the work done. A lot of the sessions started with 4 to 6 miles easy, then simulated threshold runs [such as 5–10 minutes hard, 1 minute easy] and I would do it at all different combinations of speed and grade. I would go all the way from 5 to 10 percent grade just to get all the muscles involved.” In the end, she says, she was often on the treadmill for up to two hours at a time.

Your Turn: You don’t need to spend 120 minutes on the treadmill to reap some of the benefits Lewy Boulet found. Rather, after a solid 20 minute warm-up, begin running at your lactate threshold pace for 1 to 2 miles, resting a minute in between. As you begin to recognize your threshold pace (through physical cues such as breathing or the treadmill’s heart rate monitor), change the gradient on the treadmill to add a new stimulus. Continue until you’ve run between 4 and 8 miles hard. You’ll have to slow down your pace, but as Lewy Boulet says, you’ll find a whole new way to use your muscles and the miles are sure to fly by faster.

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Damon Martin, Head Cross Country Coach of NCAA Division II champion Adams State College, Alamosa, Colo.

Think winter training and treadmills and you inevitably think of logging endless base-building miles to be prepared for the spring, summer and autumn racing seasons that loom far ahead. Yet for high school, college and professional runners, indoor track is just around the corner. It may be seen as a secondary sport by many, but for those hungry individuals who yearn to blitz around tight little tracks, the need for speed is real. How, then, to reconcile a treadmill and turnover?

With the unpredictable winters coaching at almost 8,000 feet above sea level brings, Martin has had to develop a flexible training plan to keep his harriers ready for whatever may come. “I think [the treadmill] is a big benefit when the weather is bad,” he says. “You have either the choice of just going out and putting in any kind of run, or you can stick with what your original plan was.”

For Martin that plan often involves fast intervals to keep his runners sharp for races ranging from 800m to 5,000m, no easy feat at that altitude in sub-arctic conditions. Martin is an innovator, however, and has discovered a unique way of achieving this turnover by utilizing the ultimate in running technology: the AlterG treadmill.

“Sometimes it’s hard to simulate sea level training and paces, so I’ll have kids get on [an AlterG], reduce their bodyweight by 1 or 2 percent, and then have them do interval training,” he says. “It’s like doing sea level training. By reducing their bodyweight by 1 or 2 percent, I can simulate some of those same velocities.”

Your Turn: Consider this workout extra credit. While the $75,000 price tag has made owning an AlterG cost prohibitive for most individual buyers, more and more health clubs and rehabilitation facilities are purchasing the machine. Additionally, many commercial or high-end home models can reach speeds between 12 and 15 mph (5:00 mile pace/4:00 mile pace) these days, which will keep the fast-twitch fibers happy for most of us.

If you do gain access to a sturdy and speedy machine, treat it just like you would the track. Put on your flats, crank up the adrenaline, and prepare to bust out some 200s, 300s, or 400s at mile pace with equal rest. The virtual track that most treadmill displays now come standard with can help you feel your position out, while the precise pacing will allow you to hit paces better than you could have ever imagined outdoors. If you finagle a ride on an AlterG, go ahead and take 5 percent of your body weight off and see just how fast you can fly. It’s like being wind-aided indoors; your muscles will appreciate the unique stimulus.

For extra, extra credit, download an old Olympic race off YouTube or dust off the VHS you have of the Atlanta Games and see how your sprint holds up against Coe, Walker, Morceli, or Bekele. The film may be a bit grainy, but I bet a 37.5 200m sprint never went by faster.