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Tredmill Question
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 2009-01-17 1:10 PM |
Regular  72  Boston, MA |  Subject: Tredmill QuestionOK, is this all in my head. At the gym I belong too, when I run on the tredmills some seem easier to run on than others. The other day I ran on a tredmill and it seriosuly felt like I was running on sand, it was twice as hard as runnign outside or on soem of the other tredmills. Now is this all in my head or do soem vary that much, and the speed was the same, I just feel like I wasnt moving? |
| 2009-01-17 2:28 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
Extreme Veteran 582 Denver, CO | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question I totally understand! Treadmills can be very different in my opinion. For me, it's always harder to run on a treadmill than outside. Also, I tend to run a lot faster outside then on a treadmill. The treadmill that felt like you were running on sand could have been broken too...or on its way out. It always seems that there are 2-3 treadmills that are being fixed at any given time at my gym. |
| 2009-01-17 3:56 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
Veteran 287 Channahon,Illinois | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question Interesting, I on the other hand feel as tho treadmill runs are easier. They are easy on the knees and there is no wind resistance. While wearing my heart rate monitor I notice that my rate is always a few beats lower on the treadmill then on the open road at the same pace. |
| 2009-01-17 4:22 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
Master 1524 Reston, VA | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question i actually tend to run on the treadmill ALOT and have never noticed a difference between machines at the gym. I agree that if it felt that terrible, than there was probably something wrong with that particular machine. i would let gym management know next time. |
| 2009-01-17 5:42 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
Regular 72 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question Thanks, you know whats funny, I was there today and every tremill was beign used, except that one! prob on its way out! thanks for the reponses |
| 2009-01-17 6:14 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
Extreme Veteran 375 Middleville, MI | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question I'm a big guy, 230 lbs., so I tend to be hard on treadmills. I notice on the treadmill that I use the most sometimes the belt will slip when I put my foot down. This feels really uncomfortable and can be fixed by adjusting the belt tension. The other thing I notice is that the speed can vary treadmill to treadmill. My fixed running speed may seem easy on one and like nearly impossible to keep up with on another. |
| 2009-01-18 3:06 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
Regular 113 Memphis, TN | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question Treadmill belts need to be waxed on a regular basis. If they are not the digital set speed is faster than the actual belt speed. which might explain why some treadmills seem slower/easier than others. |
| 2009-01-18 4:37 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
Master 1993 Riverside, IL | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question I've definitely noticed that treadmills DO vary from one to another. My gym has 2 particular brands of treadmills - LifeFitness and Star Trac. I prefer and run 99% of the time, on the Star Trac models...simply because it feels better to me. The shock absorption seems superior, I like the layout of the display better, and it has nicer programming options than the LifeFitness models. That being said...the other day, I was forced to run on a LifeFitness treadmill because all the Star Tracs were taken. I found myself struggling throughout the entire 3.1 mile run. My normal pace is usually 6.0mph, but on the LF treadmill...6.0mph FELT more like 6.5mph. Could have been all in my head, because I'm so used to running on the Star Tracs...but I'm convinced that EVERY treadmill in my gym is calibrated differently and no two will fell the same. ETA - I should also note that I tend to run on the SAME treadmill, if it's possible. Perhaps that is why whenever I run on a different treadmill...whether it is another Star Trac model or a LifeFitness model...it feels "off" to me. Edited by nscrbug 2009-01-18 4:38 PM |
| 2009-01-18 5:35 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
| Extreme Veteran 1030 West Windsor, NJ | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question The theory goes that treadmill running is harder than running outside. I have been told that its due to the extra balance that you need on a treadmill..but I am not sure why its SO different than outside (don't you have to balance outside too??). BUT, I do agree..that running, say an 8min mile on a treadmill is much harder than running the same outside. I am not convinced why yet, but the reality to me says that its true. ON the other side of things...Wind resistance is a good point..never thought of that before. That being said, you arent going THAT fast, and I am not sure wind resistance is as much of an issue as compared to a bike where 80% of your energy goes to fighting wind resistance. But still a good point. |
| 2009-01-18 6:08 PM in reply to: #1913894 |
Extreme Veteran 510 Falls Church, VA | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question I wonder if modern gym quality tm's are self leveling or not. If not the gym wouls have to manually level each one. If they aren't precise aout it some mills could be set with a built in incline at a setting of 0 degrees and others wouldn't. Just a thought.
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| 2009-01-18 11:29 PM in reply to: #1915224 |
| Expert 810 Southeast | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question JohnAgs3 - 2009-01-18 6:35 PM The theory goes that treadmill running is harder than running outside. I have been told that its due to the extra balance that you need on a treadmill..but I am not sure why its SO different than outside (don't you have to balance outside too??). BUT, I do agree..that running, say an 8min mile on a treadmill is much harder than running the same outside. I am not convinced why yet, but the reality to me says that its true. ON the other side of things...Wind resistance is a good point..never thought of that before. That being said, you arent going THAT fast, and I am not sure wind resistance is as much of an issue as compared to a bike where 80% of your energy goes to fighting wind resistance. But still a good point. Huh? Whose theory is this? Outside you run on uneven ground, and you are continually adjusting to the little bumps, twists, hills, and valleys, in the terrain. This is true on all but the smoothest of surfaces. The treadmill requires virtually zero adjustment from stride to stride. I have no idea what could affect one's 'balance' on a treadmill... Wind resistance may be more significant than you thought. Jack Daniels has some material on this in his book. Treadmills are notoriously inaccurate, especially those used many hours a day in gyms. It is in fact not at all easy to keep a treadmill calibrated. Even if they are calibrated correctly in the beginning (unlikely), the belts slip, gears wear down, etc., etc. Given that the belt is going around many times per minute, it doesn't take much error to create a large error over several miles. If you find treadmill running 'harder' than running outdoors, you should initially suspect the treadmill. There are other explanations, but they are far less plausible (unless you do nearly ALL your running on a treadmill -- in that case, it is probably the fact that your body is not used to the extra stresses of running oudoors!). |
| 2009-01-19 5:00 AM in reply to: #1913894 |
| Extreme Veteran 454 OKC | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question Probably not in your head. I've used an accelerometer (Garmin 50) on a lot of treadmills, and while the vast majority are usually in sync, there's always a few that need recalibrated. |
| 2009-01-19 10:04 AM in reply to: #1915707 |
| Extreme Veteran 1030 West Windsor, NJ | Subject: RE: Tredmill Question mdickson68 - 2009-01-19 12:29 AM Huh? Whose theory is this? Outside you run on uneven ground, and you are continually adjusting to the little bumps, twists, hills, and valleys, in the terrain. This is true on all but the smoothest of surfaces. The treadmill requires virtually zero adjustment from stride to stride. I have no idea what could affect one's 'balance' on a treadmill... Yeah, but the ground doesnt "move" when you strike it. The treadmill moves because of the shock absorption, and I think that takes more balance than running on solid ground. I have heard many say "its probably just the treadmill", but I have always found running indoors to be harder than outdoors, no matter which treadmill I use (and by harder, I mean that its much easier to run a faster pace outdoors than on a treadmill; I think the overall workout outdoors is harder on your legs/body/etc.). And any of the reasons brought up (belts need to be waxed, gears slip, etc.) seem to me reasons for indoors to be easier, not harder, no? For example: if gears or belts are slipping, wouldnt that lead the treadmill to be rotating slower, not faster? Who knows..maybe its just harder because of the montony of it! Edited by JohnAgs3 2009-01-19 10:05 AM |
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