How to calculate the conversion of the treadmill to simulate running outdoors
The conversion of the treadmill remains a controversial topic among the most demanding runners. Most feel that using a machine with or without incline cannot simulate the effort and results of a good run outdoors. Having said that, it is not always possible to go out and run whenever you want.
Many problems can arise that would make a treadmill better suited to the moment. The climate for one is at the top of the list when it comes to canceling your career, but there are also personal, family, work, time commitments, etc. When these problems occur, it is up to each individual whether it is better to go their own way or not run at all. My preference, of course, is to jump on the indoor track and do some cardio.
The treadmill conversion is basically setting the incline of the track to potentially match the resistance and effort of running outdoors. Now the argument most runners make for why using conversions isn’t up to the task of running outdoors is that you can’t simulate the environment, like wind resistance, hills, rough terrain or even the hardness of the ground. It also appears that your speed when running on an indoor track with no incline or 0% incline is actually slower than when running on a flat road or track surface as most equipment has a buffer track shock absorber that absorbs its impact but seems to slow down.
For many, it even seems to be a bit more difficult and time consuming to run on a machine at 0% incline than running the same amount of time outdoors. This is probably a mental adjustment that runners have to make because when you’re running outdoors you can look at the scenery and not think about the weather, but when you’re training, in most cases, you’re probably just looking at the screen time. machine making it look longer.
My personal opinion is that the effort of running on a treadmill at 0% incline is less than running on a flat road at the same pace due to the lack of wind resistance while running on a machine.
In:
http://www.hillrunner.com/training/tmillchart.php
This site helps convert your treadmill, treadmill MPH settings, pace per mile and equivalent paces per incline.
Finding the exact conversion is quite difficult due to the differences in treadmills and how each of our bodies reacts to different running scenarios. If you’re looking for the quick and hassle-free answer to treadmill conversion and you take the averages of the above two and the average of what the pros say, it breaks down to about 3% incline which is the equivalent of a outdoor run on a flat surface. . It may not be perfect, but it is the foundation for most runners.
Machine training may not exactly mimic running outdoors, but it certainly gives you a great workout and can be much more convenient for most. But if you really want to get as close to an outdoor run as possible, look at converting your treadmill to help simulate your effort, it works pretty well in a pinch.