Effective Workouts on the Treadmill Incline
Holding on is far more prevalent when a person uses the treadmill incline. What’s the point of using an incline if you’re going to hold on?
Holding on in front cancels effect of incline, and can damage the machine.
Some people plaster their hands behind the display panel or grasp the front bar while the treadmill is inclined, arms straight. Their body tilts way back stiffly at the same angle as the treadmill incline, canceling out the uphill effect!
It’s unbelievable; I see people all the time doing this, leaning way, way back, as stiff as a board, thinking they are mimicking the action of walking up a hill. When you walk up a hill outside, are you hanging onto anything and leaning back?
Observe the profile of a person walking up a hill outdoors. Note the angle created by the front of his body and the ground; it’s less than 90 degrees. The steeper the hill, the smaller this angle. Now, observe the profile of a person gripping the treadmill while using a high incline. The angle between their body and the tread surface is 90 degrees (perpendicular), the same as flat-course walking!
Now, before you assume that leaning forward while holding on will solve this problem…it won’t. In this case, you’d be pulling yourself forward with your arms, cheating your legs out of the climb just the same.
Holding on will create more drag on the tread belt. This can cut short the lifespan of the tread, as well as overheat the motor and even the machine’s electronics.
Holding onto the side rails also cheats you.
Placing your hands on the side rails will subtract some of your weight off the tread, so forget that. All of this is make-believe climbing and will do nothing to prepare you for actual hiking, or strengthen your cardiovascular system. That lean person you see striding for 30 minutes at 4 mph at 12 percent grade, hands glued to the machine, would be breathless on a 12 percent outdoor trail within two minutes at the same speed.
For treadmill incline walking to be effective, it must be done in a natural state: hands swinging at sides (not necessarily dramatically, and they can actually be anywhere as long as you are not holding onto the machine). Hands off always translates to best posture and best breathing.
Don’t feel tempted to hold on if you tire very quickly. Incline walking is not something people normally do, and breathlessness can come on rapidly. So rather than cheat by holding on, simply slow the speed. In fact, what would you do if you were outdoors on a hike and became winded? You’d slow down. Likewise, do this on the treadmill if the settings are too difficult.
It’s amazing; I see people all the time walking 15 percent at 4 mph. Very few people can sustain this pace without holding on. The smart thing to do is lower the treadmill incline and/or slow the speed.
You wouldn’t try to sustain a 4 mph walk outdoor up a similarly-graded trail, would you? Instead, you’d hike at maybe 2.5 or only 2 mph. Observe hikers on a steep trail; they go pretty slowly. Your high-incline treadmill pace should be similar to your outdoor hill pace. Don’t be unrealistic.
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