Benefits of Running on a Incline Treadmill

Just like hill training when running outdoors has many benefits like improving leg strength, improving your stride speed and length, and protecting your leg muscles against soreness. Exercising on a treadmill incline has many benefits as well.

Increasing the incline on your treadmill incline has similar benefits to hill training, like burning more calories than flat road running, building leg strength, and positively impacting your overall fitness level.

Increased Endurance

Running on a treadmill incline helps build your cardiovascular endurance because you take in more oxygen as you run at a steep incline. Adding an incline to your run will make your lungs work harder increasing the strength of your diaphragm and lungs long term.

Uphill running also helps reduce your risk for heart disease. As you consistently increase your heart rate, you extend your heart’s strength and longevity.

Running on an incline for a longer period of time will also improve your V02 max – which is the amount of oxygen your body can take in while exercising. Increasing your V02 max will allow you to run better for longer, as your body will be able to take in and deliver more oxygen to your muscles.

Mimics Outdoor Running

Typically, treadmills seem to be easier to run on when compared to outdoor running. Outdoor running can be more difficult because of natural elements like wind, rain, snow, hills, or the terrain you’re running on. When treadmill running, most people typically run at a flat 0% incline that provides little to no resistance. But, when you run at a 1-2% incline, you experience a more natural, outdoor running feel. The incline takes into account the lack of terrain variables so you can work just as hard as you would outdoors.

Increases Strength

Incline running will help you build more leg muscles by propelling your body uphill, making you work harder than running on flat roads. As you build your strength and endurance with incline running, your energy levels will increase, your body will look more toned, and everyday activities like walking, carrying groceries, and cleaning will start to feel easier.

What Is a Good Incline to Run on a Treadmill?

As a beginner at a basic fitness level, it’s a good idea to start with a percent incline of 1-2%. Experts say this gives the most authentic outdoor running experience. It’s this level that can mimic hill training.

When you’re running on an incline, try to run at a moderate pace for your fitness level. Don’t sprint up the incline as this can cause injury and burn you out quickly. Instead, take into account your Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE). Your RPE is measured on a scale from 1-10 with 1 being the easiest, and measures the intensity of your workout. This will vary based on your fitness level. While measuring your RPE, you should take into consideration your breathing, effort, and how tired you feel at each level. Depending on the goal of your workout, you’ll want to vary between moderate and hard RPE when running inclines.

To ease your way in, always start with a warm up walk at a moderate speed with little to no incline to get your heart rate up and wake your body up, as well as cool down to ease your muscles out of the workout.

Incline Treadmill Workouts

Interval Training

Equipment: Incline Treadmill

This workout doubles as interval training and builds up your strength and endurance to help build up your fitness levels. Adjust the speed of the treadmill based on your heart rate zone and RPE.

Warm up: 5 minute steady state walk at easy pace

Working set:

• Interval 1: 85% max. heart rate at 3% treadmill incline. 20s on, 40s rest. Repeat 5x
• Interval 2: 75% max. heart rate at 4% treadmill incline. 40s on, 20s rest. Repeat 5x
• Internal 3: 70% max. heart rate at 5% treadmill incline. 60s on, 30s rest. Repeat 7x

Cool down: 5 minutes steady state walk at an easy pace

Note: To use this workout effectively, use this heart rate chart to better understand how to calculate your HR at each level. Training based on your heart rate is effective because it provides actual insight into how hard your body is working and at what state your body is in: warm-up (zone 1), fat burn (zone 2), cardio (zone 3), and peak (zone 4).

Speed Workout

Equipment: Speed Treadmill

This workout is designed to increase your running pace and speed to allow you to run for longer and faster periods.

Warm up: 10 minute slow jogging with no incline

Working Set:

• Increase incline to 1-2%, keeping your pace the same for 5 minutes
• Increase your speed to mid pace, keep the incline the same for 5 minutes
• Increase incline to 3-4% for 5 minutes
• Increase incline to 5-6% and pace to 75% of max heart rate for 30s, rest 60s repeat 3 times

Cool Down: Decrease incline to 1-2% lower speed to walking for cool down

Note: Depending on your fitness levels, be mindful of your RPE throughout the workout. At any moment if you exceed a 6 RPE and your heart rate stays at peak for too long, adjust the speed to accommodate your fitness levels.

There are many different kinds of treadmill workouts you can do to build strength, fitness levels, and muscles. Here’s a beginner’s guide to treadmill workouts if you’re just starting out on a treadmill.

What Incline and Speed Should I Use on a Treadmill?

When it comes to treadmill workouts, there are a variety of factors you can play with like incline and speed. If you’re looking for a workout to aid in weight loss, increase your treadmill incline to 3-5% after a solid warm up. If you’re an advanced runner, consider increasing the incline to 6-12%. This will help improve your cardiovascular health and challenge your body more. It’s important to note, only increase to 6%+ if you are an advanced runner. Or, if you can’t run at an incline, walking at an incline is a great first step. Jumping in inclines too quickly before your body is ready can do more harm than good. Gradually increase your treadmill’s incline for the most effective workout.