Wonder if Poseidon Was a Runner

Treadmills. We've all used them. They're great for when it's too cold, too hot, or just simply when there's no good or safe place to run. If you're creative you can get in a great workout on a treadmill be it a regular run, sprint intervals, a tempo run, or even hill work. Whether you use the treadmill at the gym or you've invested in a quality home treadmill, it can be a lifesaver for a runner, especially one who is in training.

Recently I was introduced to an entirely different approach to the treadmill—the water treadmill. Yep, that's right, a water treadmill. Water therapy has been used for decades for rehabilitation. The use of a physical therapy pool is very beneficial in the recovery of muscle injuries. The support of the water provides resistance and muscle activation without the impact.

The people at HydroWorx have created the best of both worlds with their HydroWorx X80 portable underwater treadmill and jet machine. This unique underwater treadmill turns any static pool into a highly functional rehab and fitness experience. The portable underwater treadmill offers low impact cardio and also comes with an integrated resistance jet for enhanced rehabilitation and conditioning. By attaching a massage hose to the fully adjustable resistance jet, you can soothe aching joints and muscles with a deep tissue massage.

The water treadmill is not just for physical therapy rehab centers. Fitness centers and universities are starting to see the benefits of water training and are equipping their pools with water treadmills for fitness training. UO, NCSU, OSU, KU, UK, and MSU are just a few of the universities across the country using water treadmills.  The really cool thing is that you can do entirely different workouts on the water treadmill, because there's not the concern of falling off and hurting yourself.

So, is there going to be an Atlantis Marathon? Don't know, but if you ever have a chance to test out a water treadmill, you might be pleasantly surprised. I know I'm heading to NCSU for a test run. Wonder if I have to put baggies over my running shoes? ;-)

Hill Workouts on the Treadmill

Even if you’re not training for a race, mixing up your weekly runs is a great way to make you a stronger more efficient runner. Adding a weekly hill workout is a great way to “mix-it-up.” Runners usually have a love-hate relationship with hills. It’s one of those things that you dread, but love after you’ve completed it.

Why the dread? Well, they’re hard. They’re hard for a reason. The incline of the hill helps strengthen all of the lower-body muscles, especially the glutes and hamstrings. The increased speed needed to climb that hill helps boost your VO2Max (your body’s ability to take in oxygen and get it to the muscle to make energy) as well as push out your lactate threshold (the point at which you feel that fatiguing burn in your legs). Boosting all three of these areas does a lot to make you a stronger, faster, more efficient runner. Whether you’re a marathon endurance runner or a speedy 5K racer, weekly hill workouts can be of great benefit to your training.

A problem for many runners is the availability of hills. So, what’s a runner to do? The answer is as close as your nearest treadmill. Yep, you can get in a great hill workout right on your in-home or gym treadmill. Even if you do live in an area with hills, it can be hard to find just the right hill or hills to fit your training needs. The treadmill eliminates that problem by allowing you the ability to determine the length of your hill as well as the degree of incline. Most treadmills have a range of inclines from 1°-12°and some even go higher.

An important element of any hill workout (whether beginner or experienced) is the warm-up. It’s never a good idea to expose your body to intense speed work or steep inclines without first warming-up your muscles. So, before any hill workout, it’s best to begin with a 1-mile easy jog at 0° incline.

If you’re a newbie to hill work, it’s best to gradually introduce your body to the various inclines. If you’re a new runner or even an experienced runner who hasn’t done much hill running, the muscles and tendons in your legs may not yet have the strength for intense and/or steep hill work. Instead of discovering that the hard way by becoming injured, start out slow, gradually increase your leg strength, and before you know it you’ll be conquering any degree of incline. Often runners new to hill workouts, think they need a huge degree of incline in order to get an effective workout. Actually you don’t need much more than a 7° incline to get a great hill workout. Also keep in mind that a lower the degree of incline can involve a longer distance run and a higher degree of incline will involve a shorter distance run.

Below is a good beginner and intermediate pyramid hill workout. It’s called a pyramid because the runner begins at 0° incline, builds up to a designated degree of incline, and then works his/her way back down to 0° again. (You should be able to run at least 5-miles with ease before attempting these workouts.)

The Beginner Pyramid
Run 1-mile at an easy pace at 0° incline.
Run ¾ -mile at an easy pace at 1° incline.
Run ½ -mile at an easy pace at 2° incline.
Run ¼ -mile at an easy pace at 3° incline.
Run ½ -mile at an easy pace at 2° incline.
Run ¾ -mile at an easy pace at 1° incline.
Run 1-mile at an easy pace at 0° incline.

The Intermediate Pyramid
Run 1-mile at an easy pace at 0° incline.
Run 1-mile at an easy pace at 2° incline.
Run ¾-mile at an easy pace at 3° incline.
Run ½-mile at an easy pace at 4° incline.
Run ¼-mile at an easy pace at 5° incline.
Run ½-mile at an easy pace at 4° incline.
Run ¾-mile at an easy pace at 3° incline.
Run 1-mile at an easy pace at 2° incline.

Your everyday “outside” running routes most likely have hills dispersed intermittently throughout the route. Use the following workout to help condition your body to be able to deal with hills that pop-up during a run.

Intermittent Hill Workout
Run 1-mile at your regular pace at 0° incline.
Run ¼ -mile at a slightly faster pace at 2° incline.
Continue with the same pace and run ¼ -mile at 3° incline.
Continue with the same pace and run ¼ -mile at 4° incline.
Continue with the same pace and run ¼ -mile at 5° incline.
Run 1-mile at your regular pace at 0° incline.
Repeat this cycle twice for a 6-mile run or three times for a 9-mile run.

Hill workouts can also be used as an alternative to a speed workout. This type of workout is typically done outside as hill repeats, such as a 10 x 100m hill repeat. It’s a little further, but to make it easier to track the distance on a treadmill, change the 100m to 1/10th of a mile. If this type of workout is new to you, start with a 4 x .1-mile and work your way up to a 6 x .1-mile and eventually get to an 8 x .1-mile workout.

Surge the Hill Repeats
Run 1-mile at an easy pace at 0° incline (Warm-Up Mile)
Run .1 mile at maximum speed at a 10° incline (Speed Interval)
Run .1 mile at an easy pace at a 0° incline (Recovery Interval)
Run .1 mile at maximum speed at a 10° incline (Speed Interval)
Run .1 mile at an easy pace at a 0° incline (Recovery Interval)
Run .1 mile at maximum speed at a 10° incline (Speed Interval)
Run .1 mile at an easy pace at a 0° incline (Recovery Interval)
Run .1 mile at maximum speed at a 10° incline (Speed Interval)
Run .1 mile at an easy pace at a 0° incline (Recovery Interval)

Got a Treadmill? Got Speedwork!

Many runners at some point will find themselves in a rut. They’ve stagnated. Same mileage at the same intensity, week after week. They may even be putting on a few pounds even though they’re running. So, what’s up?

Well, the better question to ask might be “What’s not up?” Once you’ve become an established runner, it doesn’t take long for your body to acclimate to the demands you’re putting upon it. So, while that 5-miler you do every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday may be providing you some good base mileage and an aerobic workout, it’s probably not doing much to help make you faster, fitter, stronger. Nor is it doing much to ramp up your metabolism, the key in keeping those pounds off.

What’s the answer? SPEEDWORK! One weekly interval workout will do wonders to jack up your metabolism helping to shed those few pounds. It will also help increase your VO2Max, which is your body’s ability take in and use oxygen at the muscle level where it’s used to make energy. That weekly interval workout will also help push out your lactate threshold. Lactate is a byproduct of energy production. Ever get that burning sensation in your legs when you speed up and run hard? That’s due to lactate buildup. Usually the body is able to clear it out of the blood and there’s no problem. But when you ramp-up speed or intensity too quickly, the lactate can build up quicker than the body is able to clear it out of the bloodstream. Exposing your body to faster runs can gradually push out that lactate threshold, so it will take longer before you feel that burn.

So, I know some of you are saying, “I’d love to add speed work, but I don’t live near a track.” Well, if you own a treadmill, have a membership to a gym with treadmills, or have friend or family member with a treadmill, then you can get in an awesome interval workout.

An interval is nothing more than running fast for a certain distance and then running slow for the same distance or for a specific time. Typically a short interval (like a 200m interval) is run at a pace that’s about 30 seconds slower than your 5K race pace. Longer intervals (like the 800m or 1200m) are typically run at 30 seconds slower than you 10K race pace.

Does the math to figure out the pace for such a short distance make your brain hurt? Don’t worry. I’m with you. Put that calculator down and use The McMillan Running Calculator instead. Simply select the distance (5K or 10K) and then put in your race time and hit “calculate.” The next screen will tell you paces for every training distance you’d ever need to know based on your 5K or 10K pace.

Most interval workouts use some combination of 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 1000m, and 1200m intervals. Each fast interval is followed by a slow recovery interval. The recovery interval isn’t based on a certain distance. It’s based on time. The shorter the fast interval distance, the shorter the recovery interval time. The longer the fast interval distance, the longer the recovery interval time. For example, a runner doing a 6x800m workout would take about a 90-second recovery interval jog/walk between each fast 600m interval. A runner doing a 4x1600m workout would take about a 3-minute recovery interval jog/walk between each fast 1600m interval.

Most treadmills have an oval track diagram on the control display providing a wonderful visual to track your progress as you run your intervals. If you’ve never run intervals on a track you may not be familiar with the typical interval distances. The key below can help you better understand the distances you’re running as you’re looking at the track display on your treadmill monitor.

• 200m = 1/2 lap (1/8 mile on the treadmill)
• 400m = 1 lap (1/4 mile on the treadmill)
• 800m = 2 laps (1/2 mile on the treadmill)
• 1000m = 2.5 laps (5/8 mile on the treadmill)
• 1200m = 3 laps (3/4 mile on the treadmill)
• 1600m = 4 laps (1 mile on the treadmill)

Your body can acclimate to intervals just like it does when running that same old 5-miler three times a week. So, mix-up your interval workouts. Keep your body guessing by varying the interval distances each week. There’s no right or wrong way. Just remember to insert a recovery interval in between each fast interval. Below are some sample workouts for you to incorporate once a week into your normal running routine. 

• Workout #1—5x1000m @5K race pace with 2-minute recovery (walk or jog) in between
• Workout #2—6x800m @10K race pace with 90-second recovery (walk or jog) in between
• Workout #3—Do Three sets of the following:  1x1200m @ 10K race pace with 1-minute recovery, 1x400m @5K race pace with a 3-minute recovery (walk or jog) before repeating the set
• Workout#4—4x1600m @10K race pace with 3-minute recovery (walk or jog) in between
• Workout#5—8x800m @10K race pace with 90-second recovery (walk or jog) in between
• Workout#6—400m @ 5K race pace (30sec recovery); 800 @ 10K race pace (90-sec recovery); 1200m @10K race pace (2-min recovery); 1600m @10K race pace (3-min recovery); 1200m @10K race pace (2-min recovery); 800 @ 10K race pace (90-sec recovery); 400m @ 5K race pace

Your total mileage for an interval workout may be no more than 3-4 miles, but you’re getting a lot more out of this workout than your regular 5-miler. Think of the interval workout as a “Quality Workout.”

To better simulate outside running, be sure to set your treadmill to an incline of 1° or 2°. This will help account for uneven terrain of outside running.

Looking for a Quality Treadmill? Try a Landice!

I've been a very fortunate individual in life. Even when times get tough, I have a great family and a wonderful network of friends. In contests, however, I've never been lucky and the few times I've been to a casino, I'm always the guy that when he leaves a slot machine the next person to use it hits the jackpot! That all changed this past March when I entered a drawing for a free Landice Treadmill.

When I was in the process of opening my new personal training studio, RunnerDude's Fitness LLC, I looked around and did some comparison shopping of the various treadmills. I looked at the upper-end residential models that could be purchased at local fitness stores and I also looked at some of the club-quality machines. I wanted something that would last, since I was planning to put it in the studio.
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In my online comparison shopping, I came across a line of treadmills that I was not familiar with—Landice. As I read through their website, I became quite impressed with what I was reading and was surprised I had not come across the brand before. But to be honest, before opening RunnerDude's Fitness, I had never really looked at treadmills other than the ones that were in the gym to which I belonged. While on the website, I noticed Landice was holding a drawing for a free Landice L7 Treadmill, so I entered, knowing full well, it was a million-to-1 long shot that I'd win. Well about a week after entering the contest, I got an email, saying I had won!!! I guess, maybe when you don't win any contests for years and years, it culminates into a really large prize!! It was perfect timing too—I was getting ready to have an open house for the studio.

I've been using the treadmill personally and with my clients going on four months now. I LOVE IT! And so do my clients. The studio is located in an office complex, so I was concerned about the noise a treadmill might make. I didn't want the neighboring businesses complaining. I was relieved when I discovered that the Landice L7 is a very quiet machine and provides a very smooth, comfortable run. So far no complaints. I've had beginner runners all the way to speedy experienced runners use the treadmill and all have been pleased. The treadmill gets used regularly to perform VO2Max testing which is a part of my fitness assessment program.

Landice has been around for over 40 years. They produce a variety of treadmills and elliptical machines. Landice treadmills are consistently ranked as #1 or Best Buys by leading consumer magazines and websites. Even Runner's World had this to say about the Landice L8—The L8 can take a pounding. While many of the other units in this review are made from steel, the L8 is constructed from super-strong, aircraft-quality aluminum—delivering durability that's ideal for runners who push their equipment to the limit.
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One of the most impressive things I found on the website are video testimonials from three different owners. One has owned a Landice for 2 years, one 7 years and one 13 years! That's pretty awesome. Another great thing is that Landice provides a life-time warranty for residential treadmills and a 5-year warranty for commercial treadmills. So, if you're shopping for a treadmill, be sure to check out Landice. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and happy that you did.

Here's a video clip of a treadmill workout in which I use the Landice L7 treadmill that I won.


Note: I did win a Landice L7 treadmill through a contest drawing sponsored by Landice, but was was not asked nor paid to complete this review. I'm simply pleased with the product and my review is based on my personal experience using the Landice L7.

Quick-n-Simple Interval Workout

A speed workout is one of the best ways to kick your running program into high gear, but it doesn't have to be anything fancy. The key to an effective speed workout is speed. You can definitely get that doing repeats on the track, but you can also get in an effective speed workout while on the trail, running at the park or at home or in the gym on the treadmill.

Basically all you need is a series of slow and fast intervals. These intervals can be based on time or distance. For example you can run at a moderate pace for 4 minutes and then run fast (just below your 5K pace) for 1 minute. Or if you'd prefer to base the intervals on distance, try running a quarter mile at a moderate pace and then run a quarter mile at a fast pace. The key is to repeat this series of slow/fast intervals for at least 30 minutes.

Your workout might look like the following:
1. Begin with a 5-minute warm-up (a brisk walk or easy jog)
2. Select one of the following interval combinations below. Rotate between the slow/fast intervals for 30 minutes.
4 mins @ a moderate pace / 1 min @ a fast pace
3 mins @ a moderate pace / 2 mins @ a fast pace
1/4 mile @ a moderate pace / 1/4 mile @ a fast pace
1/2 mile @ a moderate pace / 1/2 mile @ a fast pace
3. Finish with a 5-minute cool-down (easy jog or walk)

Incorporate this workout once a week into your running routine and you'll see improved muscular endurance, improved VO2, improved speed, and overall better running efficiency.
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For a recap of the workout, check out the following video clip from RunnerDude's Fitness.

Speed Work on a Treadmill?

Some runners can run long distances on a treadmill—I'm not one of them. Usually you'll find me on the treadmill only if it's winter and it's 20° and sleeting or if it's summer and it's 98°, with a heat index of 105° and an ozone warning. I just prefer the distractions of the fauna and flora around me on a run outside to the constant view of the sweaty people beside me and in front of me in the gym. In a previous post, I did mention that I discovered that doing fartleks on the treadmill really made those runs more enjoyable. So, I got to wondering if you could do "real speed work" on a treadmill and if so, was it comparable to speed work out on a track.

First of all, when it's July or August and there's a heat index of 115, it's just impossible to run as fast as you need to without risking heat exhaustion. So, a speed workout on the treadmill is definitely better than no speed work at all. There is a little bit of controversy as to whether or not there is much difference between speedwork on a treadmill vs. speed work on a track. Seems that most believe the biggest difference is the lack of wind resistance on a treadmill. To compensate for this you need to adjust the incline of your treadmill. The amount of incline depends on your pace. For example, if the treadmill MPH is set at 7.5 and the incline is set at 0%, the pace on the treadmill will read 8:00 min/mile. However, if you were outside you'd probably be running around an 8:20 min/mile. To account for the wind resistance, set the treadmill at a 1% incline and then your pace is more equivalent to a 7:59 min/mile out on a track. Hillrunner.com has a great chart that calculates all the equivalent paces by incline for you for from 0% all the way to a 10% incline.

A smaller camp doesn't think wind resistance really is a factor unless you're running faster than a 6:30 min/mile pace. Personally, on a really good day, I might be running a 6:30 min/mile pace, but even when I'm running at a 7:00, 7:30 or even an 8:00 pace on a treadmill at a 0% incline, it doesn't feel the same as running outside. I don't know exactly if it's due to wind resistance or just the often unnoticeable roll of the landscape, but I think running outside is not truly replicated on a treadmill at 0% incline. If you're just trying to get in 30-45 minutes of running and you're not worried about pace, then keeping the incline at 0% is perfectly fine. If you want more of a true "outside run" or you want your speed work to be more akin to your running on the track, I'd suggest upping the incline by at least 1%.

Some treadmill companies have gotten savvy to runners wanting to do intervals on treadmills and have added intervals to their program options. Some LifeFitness models have a program set up for intervals. You enter your jog speed and run speed. Then toggle between the two with the hit of a button. To me this is a little more akin to fartleks, but check it out, give it a try, and see what you think.

Never Thought I'd Say This...

.....but I'm starting to not mind the treadmill. Still can't believe I put that into words. I've never liked running on the treadmill. A 4-miler on the treadmills seems like an 8-miler to me. But North Carolina's unpredictable winter weather and it getting dark so early has made treadmill running a must in order for me to keep my running schedule going.

One afternoon bored silly and on my 3rd treadmill mile, I thought, hmm, if I speed it up I'll get this over with quicker. I increased the speed and ran at that level for a quarter mile. Then I decreased it for a quarter mile. I felt great! So, I ramped it up even more for a half mile. I continuded this speed-up, slow-down process and what was supposed to be a 4-miler ended up being an awesome 5-miler. I was so surprised how spicing it up some with some repeats, actually made the treadmill workout enjoyable.

Evidently lots of other runners already know about this technique, but in case you're like me and haven't been in the loop, I thought I'd share. So next time you find yourself watching the clock counting the seconds till your treadmill run is over, try running some fartleks or repeats and I guarantee you'll be just as surprised as I was.

Check out this clip from 4-time Olympic Trials qualifier and Runner's World contributor, Budd Coates. He shares a challenging half-mile repeat workout for the treadmill. (Click here to view video clip.)

Another thing that's helped is finding a good workout download for my Ipod. In the February 18th post, "Get Movin' With a Workout Mix" I shared how pleased I was with the workout mix I downloaded from The Biggest Loser Website. It really does help break the monotony as well as provide a good beat to keep your pace up.

Get Movin' With A Workout Mix

Are you like one of the millions of Americans that are hooked on the hit TV-reality show, The Biggest Loser? I have to admit, I am. My 13-year-old daughter and I have a ritual each Tuesday night at 8:00 to sit for two hours and watch extremely overweight people learn about exercise and diet. I have to admit it really is a great show. The little fat boy that's still in my head may be why I like to root on the contestants. You see, I was an overweight child. Lost weight in high school and then discovered running and a healthy lifestyle as an adult. So, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out on Tuesday nights, 8:00PM, on NBC.


On a recent episode, they mentioned that you could order several different workout mixes on The Biggest Loser Website. So, I checked it out and actually ended up downloading songs from two of the mixes—Top 40 Hits Vol. 1 and Top 40 Hits Vol. 2. During the winter I run a lot on the treadmill and I hate it. So, I thought maybe these workout mixes would help and surprisingly enough, they did! The performers are so young and hip, that I'm familiar with only one on the whole mix, but that doesn't really matter. The music is really upbeat and I have to be careful not to start waving my arms around and shaking my bootie while I'm on the treadmill! My kids would be so embarrassed.

So, if you need to stave off boredom while on the treadmill or need some extra umph to get you going, try downloading some of these tunes!