Hill Training on a Treadmill

Overview

A treadmill provides the ability to walk or run indoors. Most commercial treadmills allow you to adjust your incline from 0 to 15 percent to simulate hills. Some super incline trainers, usually found in fitness facilities, offer inclines up to a 30 percent grade. Hill training is appropriate for a number of different fitness goals; from the casual walker to the long-distance runner.
Purpose

A treadmill offers you the ability to precisely time and stage your hills to mimic a given terrain or to create exacting intervals. Rick Morris, author of “Treadmill Training for Runners” notes that hill training provides runners a way to improve their leg strength, efficiency, form and aerobic capacity. Hill training gives walkers a way to amp up their workout without breaking into a run. Those with joint issues or the obese may find running causes discomfort; however, they cannot walk fast enough to experience continued fitness gains without adding an incline.

Features

Hill training adds a greater degree of difficulty—especially when reaching grades above 5 percent. Treadmill hill training may include occasional hills that are included as part of a long training run, a long consistent hill or short, fast hill repeats. For a long training run, you might raise your incline for distances ranging from a quarter mile to one mile, and then come back down to a flat road for the same distance. A consistent hill might involve increasing the hill’s incline every five minutes, or every half mile until you reach your intended height. Fast hill repeats serve the purpose of interval training; set your incline at a 5 or higher and race up faster than a comfortable running pace for one or two minutes. Return to your comfortable running pace on a flat road for a recovery equal to or twice as long as the hill. Walkers may incorporate similar drills to increase their heart rates, improve overall cardiovascular ability and burn more calories.

Considerations

Hill running, even on a treadmill, can cause cause injuries because of the added stress on the ankles and knees. Matthew J. Matava, MD an expert associated with the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine notes that adding too much hill training too soon in a plan is a training mistake that often leads to injury. If you are new to running, or walking, work on establishing a base fitness level for several weeks before attempting hills. Fast hill repeats, and inclines about five percent, should be reserved for more conditioned exercisers. Although the treadmill offers many advantages, its hills cannot completely duplicate road conditions. You experience no wind resistance while running on a treadmill.

Mistakes

Walkers, in particular, often set their incline at a high level, but hold on to the console or handles of a treadmill to walk up the hill. This compromises your workout by essentially creating a “towing” effect. You would be better off pumping your arms at a lower incline to build balance and burn more calories. For runners, intense hill running provides benefit but the workouts must be adequately spaced. One, or at the most two, intense hill workouts a week is sufficient to build strength and aerobic ability.

Proper Form

Running, and even walking uphill on a treadmill requires attention to form. Shorten your stride and raise your knees higher to create a bounding movement when running. Runners should strive to land more on the toes and ball of the foot and avoid a heel strike. This keeps your movement efficient and decreases the chances of injuring your Achilles tendons. Walkers should strive to stay perpendicular to the treadmill belt, rather than lean into the hill.