Hill Reps on Treadmill

[CL]

So what would happen if I stood still then?

CL - do you get the impression you're not taken entirely seriously on here?

Actually I take myself seriously and many others do on here. That's why we have some great debates.

It's also the reason why you've bothered to take part in this.

[CL]

Well, if you take this to its logical conclusion then running on a horizontal treadmill would be zero effort as you are merely letting the belt move beneath you. Clearly this isn't the case and it is undoubtedly harder running on an inclined treadmill than a horizontal one so it must be somewhat like running up a hill. Your body probably does in fact move up and down quite a bit on a steep treadmill but quite what the equivalent road incline would be I don't know.

I didn't say anything about effort. I mentioned height gained, which is partly what A.G is interested in. There isn't any height gain on a treadmill.

That's the whole point to a treadmill. Moving but getting nowhere!

[bigfella]

[quote=southernsoftie;154044]So what would happen if I stood still then?
quote]

You would fall off the end, seem to remember somone had this as their avatar.

[Roy Scott]

[QUOTE=Roy Scott;153744]The biomechanics adopted is different on a treadmill and has an accumalative effect, therefore is relatively less intense. The main diiference is that treadmill running uses a passive gait, (i.e momentum going forward is assisted by the moving belt) however the same incline on the road uses an active gait (i.e you create all the forward and vertical momentum).

This is what I was trying to say here, good debate though.

[A.G]

In that case, if the momentum going forward is assisted by the belt, the muscles returning the back leg forwards again, will have a greater load than the ones pushing it back. Will this result in a muscle imbalance?

Not sure about CLs logic about not gaining any height. Your back foot starts at the bottom of the treadmill and you pull it back up to the top. That's a gain in height.

[Penguin]

In that case, if the momentum going forward is assisted by the belt, the muscles returning the back leg forwards again, will have a greater load than the ones pushing it back. Will this result in a muscle imbalance?

Not sure about CLs logic about not gaining any height. Your back foot starts at the bottom of the treadmill and you pull it back up to the top. That's a gain in height.

i ain't getting into a full scale debate again..

But, whilst you have been training on the treadmill have you also tried the following, ankle weights! doing squats and lunges then doing the hill session on the treadmill i found it a lot harder after an hours worth of weights!

other things to try an hour of spinning then your hill session, speed on the treadmill is also a major factor i tended to try and maintain 13-15k.

[CL]

In that case, if the momentum going forward is assisted by the belt, the muscles returning the back leg forwards again, will have a greater load than the ones pushing it back. Will this result in a muscle imbalance?

Not sure about CLs logic about not gaining any height. Your back foot starts at the bottom of the treadmill and you pull it back up to the top. That's a gain in height.

A.G you're quite right. Each time you raise the knee to take a stride, your leg gains height, but it also does that on the flat.

I was really talking about the whole body, because I'd taken it for granted that in any running movement, whether on a road, treadmill, or the spot, your legs have to move.

The body gains no height on a treadmill with a gradient.Every stride you take upwards against the belt, the belt is moving you back to the starting position. When you run up a mountain your legs are pumping up and down, and as they do it your body is gaining height.

This is the key. You cannot expect the results(treadmill vs mountain) to be the same, because you've removed a very important element from the comparison.

You should now be able to work out what it is and also its consequences.

[CL]

Whilst on this subject: Years ago Chris Boardman with advice from Peter Keen, decided to do part of his mountain climbing on a treadmill with a gradient. He reasoned that as long as the gradient was similar to the ones he'd encounter in the Tour-de-France the training effects would be the same.

They overooked an important element in this theory, and as a consequence didn't gain the specific results they should have.

[Roy Scott]

Its more about the centre of gravity than the foot. With movement the COG moves but is generally located at the navel.

In that case, if the momentum going forward is assisted by the belt, the muscles returning the back leg forwards again, will have a greater load than the ones pushing it back. Will this result in a muscle imbalance?

Not sure about CLs logic about not gaining any height. Your back foot starts at the bottom of the treadmill and you pull it back up to the top. That's a gain in height.