Taking it inside - Conquering the Dreadmill

“I can’t stand cardio” “I hate the treadmill” “The treadmill is so boring”

I hear this a ton from athletes that I work with, friends, family, and everywhere else. There is a reason why people call it the “Dreadmill”… its probably one of the most hated pieces of equipment by exercisers, and I bet if you looked at just equestrian exercisers it would be worse. We are used to having a lot more stimulation, who wants to be a hamster on a wheel?!

Well, I want to stand up for the treadmill as a valuable piece of equipment… because it is! And a treadmill can’t speak for itself (well… maybe the fancy new ones can but like you I have horses, I cant afford gyms with that high tech of equipment lol!)

Now I can’t lie, I actually enjoy the treadmill. I have a very busy brain and by letting my body move without having to watch for traffic or worry about tripping, I can spend a lot of time following the thoughts in my brain, I do a lot of good thinking here chasing down ideas. But I appreciate that not everyone works that way. In fact, I am probably a rarity. HOWEVER, with my love of the treadmill, I have actually helped convert a lot of friends and clients to loving it too.. or at least not hating it quite so much. If you are in the dreadmill camp, maybe some of my love will rub off on you through this blog.

First, the obvious reason we might use it. Where I am at least, its winter. Its icy, cold and dark. For my comfort and safety, sometimes I may elect to use a treadmill. I can tough out a lot of things, in fact probably too many things I try and tough through, but it isn’t necessary and I often catch myself being more tough than smart. I try to remind myself that there are times and places to work on my toughness, but injuring myself or catching cold or frostbite can put a real kink in my long term goals and take me away from riding… and I don’t want that!

So instead of choosing “hard” meaning tough weather conditions, sometimes “hard” can mean the boring conditions of dealing with my overactive mind while on that hamster wheel. I justify that I am still being tough and that challenge changes based on the day and my perspective. So to summarize, tip #1 is to consider your safety, and tip#2 is to change your mindset about hard and welcome the growth.

Tip #3 is to do intervals. A lot of the reason why people hate the treadmill is because they set a pace and expect to perform it for 10, 20, 30 minutes or even more . Can you sit still in a room with no entertainment for that long? I definitely can’t! While a slow tempo pace is great for training, if its keeping you from showing up consistently, then it isn’t going to be all that great of a tool. So instead, try splitting up your run into intervals of 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Vary your pace or incline, and switch between walk, jog and run. Get creative! If you need help with this, I do have an add-on program for walk/run cardio that sends prompts to your phone. If you already have an active FitRider program or Membership, just ask me and I will add it to your calendar. If you aren’t a current member but still want this, just reply to this email and I will help you get set up with a membership.

Tip #4 is to ensure you are doing it correctly. When I go to the gym, the treadmill is always the most misused piece of equipment I see when I observe other gym goers. A few quick things here: always set the incline to 1% to simulate the drag of the ground (or more if you want a good hill workout!). Keep your gaze forward, not down at the screen or your feet (you can check the screen quickly here and there). The BIGGEST mistake I see though is holding onto the handrails. Keep these for emergencies only, use a watch or chest strap heart rate monitor if you care about that (otherwise use a 1-10 scale to rate your exertion level for intervals). If you have difficulty using the treadmill without holding on, slow down and work on the basics. Walking or running on the treadmill should mimic walking around in real life, so unless you push a shopping cart all day, let that body move, those arms swing, and that core and glutes engage. This is especially important as incline increases, I watch a lot of walkers on high incline gripping the handles while their legs trail behind them, this hollows their back, disengages the glutes and core and will lead to lower back pain in the long term… then you will really hate the treadmill!

Tip #5 Look in the mirror (if you can). I really miss having a treadmill with a mirror in front of it. I used to spend my time watching my body move on the treadmill, not admiring my hairdo or legs or anything (well maybe sometimes) but really looking for signs of imbalance. Some days I would notice my shirt twisting or sliding to one side, some times I would see a foot turning out, or a knee coming higher than another. You would be really surprised what you will notice when you spend a lot of focused time observing as you move. From there you can talk to your coach or physiotherapist about what you see and develop a plan to balance that out (think of it like when you trot your horses out for the vet!). That is time VERY well spent!

Tip #6 Learn your paces. Do you know what 4mph feels like in your body? What about 6? Set and forget the treadmill can help you practice the feel of setting a steady pace. I learned early in my endurance career before GPS was super popular how to set a pace by following a leader and checking my watch on mile markers. After a while, I started to have the “feel” for what different speeds felt like. You can apply the same thing on the treadmill. While it might not make it more enjoyable, you can grind it out thinking about how you will be able to better pace your run outdoors when you can get back out there.

Tip #7 Listen to music or podcast. This might feel like another obvious one but it really does work. I often find myself synching my breathing or steps with the rhythm of the music and as the songs change, that naturally gives me a reason to change tempo for an interval. Podcasts (particularly those about running, riding or working out) help me feel like I have a friend on the run with me talking about our craft and I am not so bored. Then comes the question about reading or watching TV… are those suitable distractions? Yes they will distract, but my personal opinion is these can be detrimental or dangerous on the treadmill. Most of the screens are too low and keep your visual focus too close and too low, its kind of like walking around texting on your phone, with your head down you will be more likely to lose balance and I have even gotten dizzy trying to watch as I bounce around. If you want a playlist or a podcast recommendation, hit reply to this email and tell me what you like and I will send you something I like too!

So there you have it, 7 things that I do to help enjoy the treadmill more and get the best use out of this valuable tool. Give them a try and see if it still feels like dread!

Cheers

Sarah