Improve Your Treadmill Workout

January 28th, 2009 by William | Posted in Secrets Of The Gym |

Today I improved my treadmill workout with one little change.

Jarryd, my partner at Joewarrior.com has had trouble for the last year or so with shin splints from running and jump roping for his boxing training. If you have ever had shin splints, then you know how painful they can be. Even walking can be brutal.

He has tried a lot of remedies such as stretching, warming up longer, ibuprofen and diet change. He just can’t seem to permanently get rid of the problem. It goes away with abstinence, but returns when he gets back to serious training.

Today, he was doing some more research on line and found a tip that suggested increasing the incline on the treadmill. This relates to outdoors running. Running downhill, as you probably know, is quite hard on your legs and especially tough on your shins.

The way treadmills are positioned, so the story goes, can sometimes result in a slightly downhill angle of the platform. Maybe it is from all the pounding of many workouts over time, as most of us run towards the front of the treadmill.

Even running on a perfectly flat treadmill can still be jarring if your form is not perfectly smooth and fluid.

By increasing the incline, it forces you to step up slightly and not slam your feet down with as much force. So, hopefully your shins won’t take quite the beating.

So, how did Jarryd’s research increase the productivity of my workout? Well, I decided to increase the incline when I ran today and see how it felt. I am usually too lazy to do so and prefer to sail along, listening to my mp3 player. It is still a great workout and warms me up for lifting weights.

Well, once I warmed up a little I increased the incline a bit, then a little more up to a setting of 4. Nothing too steep, but a noticeable change.

Yes, it actually did feel a bit more comfortable to stride slightly upward. But, even more amazing was how much harder I had to work.

I know, I know….duh, who would have thunk it. Well, I guess I forgot or something. Anyway, it was a great workout and I actually had fun pushing myself, knowing the benefits it was providing.

I was happily exhausted when done and was then motivated to push extra hard during my weightlifting workout. It is amazing how one little change can put the excitement back in to your daily routine.

Give it a try and improve your treadmill workout.

See you at the gym.

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