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Treadmills Help Runners Work On Their Weaknesses
By Kyle Wukawitz
One of the main advantages of running on a treadmill is the ability to simulate areas of terrain that are difficult to practice out on the open road. A hill, a gully, or a long strait-away can start, stop, increase, or decrease in intensity all with a simple push of the button. By being able to fully control the environment at hand, one can use this ability to work on and thus strengthen areas of running that otherwise would go unchecked. By no means are treadmills a total replacement to the open road, but their ability to create an environment one can work with should not go overlooked. If one's goal is to improve their ability to perform consistently above and beyond the average runners ability, one constantly needs to be working on their weaknesses to make them their strengths. The treadmill makes the perfect apparatus to make that goal a reality.
Although the treadmill gives the advantage of controlling an environment in its totality, if one can't get past the mental blocks that stand in the way of developing areas that need improvement then it is worthless. An individual's weak area is often due to the fact that they simply don't like the terrain in question for whatever that reason may be. If a person hates hills and avoids them like the plague, how likely are they going to spend the time and effort to improve on them? The answer lies within the mind and the ability to exert willpower to the situation at hand. One could have the greatest treadmill in the world, but if they aren't able to work past the discomfort of the environment which gives them the most trouble and to do so consistently they simply won't get better. To get past these barriers, they must create a scenario in their mind that equates more pain to not achieving their goals and looks past the temporary discomfort that intense running can create.
If one can get past the pain and discomfort of consistently having to deal with their weaknesses, the treadmill then becomes a tool that can be of enormous benefit to any serious runner. The issues that needs to be addressed before any treadmill running program commences are the true weaknesses of the individual at hand. This often can be helped by a running buddy or friend whom sits down with the runner and goes over what needs to be improved upon. If the friend is candid and gives their honest opinion, you may find out that there are weak areas that you know of and others that aren't quite self-evident. One will find that friends are most effective in spotting technique and posture weak spots. Getting out of bad habits when it comes to form is paramount to any athlete who looks at their activity with a longterm mindset. Technique flaws account for nearly all running injuries a runner can face solidifying the fact that time spent on the treadmill should be used to eliminate bad form, nail down stride length, and develop good posture etc. This can be helped even further if the treadmill has a mirror facing it's direction as many sports and fitness clubs have set up. Looking, watching, and perfecting running form will help any serious athlete be able to keep going well into their 50's, 60's, 70's, and beyond. Use of the treadmill in this manner makes it a valuable tool to stay injury free.
With form perfected and mindset in check, it's now time to increase that VO2 max and really make the the treadmill perform for the runner. The best method to eliminate weak spots is to set up intervals or bouts of training time that focus on those areas exclusively. For example, if steep hills are an individual's absolute worst, they should start out by encountering a 30 second hill every five minutes. This gives the runner an exact time to shoot for, as they know how long the hill will last and how much time is left until they can tone it back to a regular pace. Secondly, time between bouts allows the runner to prepare for the next interval and will vastly improve their ability to handle known terrain when out on the open road. As the runner gets better at dealing with their weak areas, the interval time is gradually increased while the time between gradually decreases. By knowing the exact time and intensity specifications for the environment at hand, one can realistically improve their running ability with small but continual increases in work load. By keeping track of their progress, a runner can shave minutes off their times by gradually handling higher and more intense scenarios.
A treadmill should be part of any runner's arsenal of tools that he or she uses on a regular basis. By taking advantage of the ability to control ones environment, an individual can make gradual improvements in technique, speed, intensity, and mental strength and chart their progress extremely accurately. The ability to chart and record progress becomes extremely beneficial because regular improvement is then second nature and easy to accomplish.
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