Is 4-5 miles treadmill easier on the calves and shins than running 4 miles on the road, or does it make no difference?
If it’s a choice between running an asphalt/concrete vs. running on a treadmill, I’d take the treadmill. But it does depend on what you are training for. If you are a marathoner or a triathlete, you would likely be better off getting used to running on the road. However, if you are a sprinter, you’d be better off doing your low intensity work on grass. Where bad weather or lack of grass is an issue, the treadmill is a good alternative (for low to moderate velocity work) as the deck of most good treadmills offer shock absorption qualities that make it easier on the calves, feet and shins.
Charlie has identified some good treadmill workouts to replace outdoor tempo workouts.
Huh. I did not know that. Would someone in the know please share?
Treadmills, Exercise bikes, Rowing machines are for women. Be a man and get out on the road to train. Back to the old skool.
Stefanie is a girls name if I’m not mistaken!
Training- like spelling- might not be your specialty. Believe it! Interval training of virtually any type beats road work every time- and you’ll still have knees when you’re older.
Maybe he was not good at skool work.
Yeh, he also believe biking up hills with high gears is the secret to speed and stride frequency…and that weights are useless for anyone, he even said Ben might have run faster had he not used weights and gotten so huge…and another one of RnR’s tips, lay down and with ankle weights on cycle your legs(sounds an awful like hip flexer loading in order to increase recovery rate…hmmmm)…
It is not uncommon for middle/long distance runners to use treadmills for interval-training in the fall.
And please, let’s not turn these forums into the “Rock N Roll-bashing community”.
Im not, just thought Id tell Charlie some of RnR’s secrets and suggestions on how Ben could have run faster…
HA!
Some funny replies here… 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I’ll consider interval training on machines rather than the road when I do low intensity, cause road gives me shin splints and kills my calves (I run on my toes the whole time). Oh, and I’m a sprinter (sorry for not specifying).
question, if your a sprinter why are you running 4-5miles a day? Youd probably be better off(performance wise) following Charlie’s system and using tempo rather than jogging…
question, if your a sprinter why are you running 4-5miles a day? Youd probably be better off(performance wise) following Charlie’s system and using tempo rather than jogging…
No no, I’m not doing this every day, God forbid… 
Just cause our coach gave us Christmas off, she told us to do a long run the day after. We rarely do long runs like that at this time of the year.
smmm tempo would still be better to do. steady state long runs can be detrimental, tempo aids in recovery, helps with rhythm, improves aerobic capacity with no detriment to performace as running 4-5 miles could have.
sometimes weather over here is rain,rain and more rain.the grass can get very slippy,so treadmill is the only way to do my tempo.i usually work on 60-70 strides per run with 20secs recovery and it works great.leave the treadmill turning while you recover,simply step to the sides and when ready lower yourself back on,simple…just don’t forget to pace your runs as treadmill running canbe be decieving,you will think you can run faster but you will pay for it half way during the session
Don’t do something for the first time in colder weather on the road. Stick with some form of tempo- either on grass as intervals, in the pool, or intervals on the treadmill. for treadmill work, crank it up to the top and incline at around 3 degrees. Do intervals of around 80 to 100 steps, with either a 20sec break or push-ups and sit-ups between reps. this will do the job. Be conservative with the volume the first time out (as with anything) and make sure you work at a pace you can finish with.
When I was talking old skool, I was talkin’, Rocky Marciano 1952…
Thoughts…
Originally posted by Charlie Francis
Don’t do something for the first time in colder weather on the road. Stick with some form of tempo- either on grass as intervals, in the pool, or intervals on the treadmill. for treadmill work, crank it up to the top and incline at around 3 degrees. Do intervals of around 80 to 100 steps, with either a 20sec break or push-ups and sit-ups between reps. this will do the job. Be conservative with the volume the first time out (as with anything) and make sure you work at a pace you can finish with.
THANKS
Thanks Charlie; i was doing mine basically how you said at 10 mph(the fastest it will go) and go for 2,000m or so. I do thissession atleast one time a week. Do you think the incline of 3 degreees would be the most you would elevate? I normally just keep it at 0 incline, but I like the idea of inclining it.
The incline keeps the workload up as you get more familiar with the treadmill and you’ve already topped out the speed.