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1. Maintain a correct posture

Running on treadmills stimulates a faulty posture for the body. It comes instinctual to keep the legs either ahead or behind, which is almost like running downhill. The same braking force is created both when the heel strikes the ground and when you move your legs forward on the treadmill. The bad thing is that by increasing time of support the body gets injured. On the treadmill, the belt coordinates the whole action. Moving the legs forward fairly contradicts the action of the belt oriented in the other direction. In order to avoid this kind of injury, it is best to keep your body straight and your feet should always be under your body.

from Jason, California - www.runreviews.com

2. Keep the body upright

Remember that your main aim on the treadmill is to move your feet so that you don’t trip over. Which makes the task quite simple: just make sure your feet don’t get stolen by the belt. The main idea is to keep your body in a straight position. Avoid leaning forward or backward because the treadmill does all the work for you. All you have to do is keep yourself straight.

from Ana, London - www.runreviews.com

3. Pull your foot straight up

Not everybody has time to do some studying on mechanics before a treadmill run, which is why not every runner is knowledgeable when stepping on the treadmill. You should keep in mind that during the run, the feet movement has a circular trajectory. The circle nears the vertical line that goes through the support, which makes it quite clear that what you have to do is pull your foot up under the hip in the exact moment that your foot is under your body.

from Jason, California - www.runreviews.com

4. Use the incline

In order to stimulate the body leaning forward while trail running, you could try making your treadmill inclination somewhere between 1 and 3 degrees.

from Jason, New Jersey

5. Don't run on your toes

Whenever you start running on your toes, stop it. You must always stay on the ball of the foot when striking the belt. You must keep your body balanced and in this particular moment of contact with the belt, all your muscles are activated. Faulty running can cause soreness and injuries but it’s ok because they can be efficiently prevented. Just stay focused.

from Ana, London - www.runreviews.com

6. Bent your knees

The knees should always be bent. Don’t try to straighten them neither let the treadmill do it for you.

from Ursu,Bicaz Romania - www.runreviews.com

7. Do not push-off

The main task on the treadmill is to move the feet and get them under the body to place the following support foot. You shouldn’t make any push-off attempt. Remember that the treadmill is moving backward and your body isn’t moving ahead.

from Ursu,Bicaz Romania - www.runreviews.com

8. Timing

Timing is important in treadmill running. The speed of your feet must be proportional to the speed of the belt. It is an efficient running principle if what you wish is to have an injury-free run.

from Bill, Miami

9. "Use" the belt

Don’t make too much effort when pulling your feet from the belt. The treadmill gives a hand due to the fact that pulling your feet is connected to the rhythm of the belt. This is a great advantage that spears the runner’s efforts by offering quite a precise synchronization.

from Heather, Colorado - www.heatherrunsfar.com

10. Don't move your legs apart

Don’t move your legs apart. It is no use. Indeed, the speed of the belt determines our stride, but meanwhile the body remains in its original position. You won’t get a longer stride if you keep your legs apart. The right position of the legs is near each other and to the vertical line.

from Ursu,Bicaz Romania - www.runreviews.com

11. Cadence is an important asset

If you wish to keep high cadence while running on the treadmill, you should try to meet the previous indications. And do not forget that cadence is an important asset of the runner. It is the trigger of the run and you fully use it when you increase or decrease the speed.

from Ana, London - www.runreviews.com

12. Try to run barefoot

If you have your personal treadmill, you are free to run barefoot. Most gyms don’t allow it and it is understandable. If you do have to go to the gym, make sure you have thin soled shoes with you.

from Ursu,Bicaz Romania - www.runreviews.com

13. The warm-up

Prior to workout you must have a fair share of warm-up. You need to get your cardio-respiratory mechanisms ready for your running drills. Warm-up doesn’t require a certain speed or length. You can do it however it makes you feel comfortable. Just make sure you don’t skip it.

from Sean - runnersblog.blogspot.com/

14. Do some cool down sessions

You should add up several cool down sessions to your workout. Your body and your mind need to relax from time to time. Sometimes, if you have to, you can reinforce muscle strength by doing strength and flexibility exercises.

from Ana, London - www.runreviews.com

15. Videotaping can be very usefull

An efficient method of increasing performance and motivation is by videotaping. This is a good way of evaluating your previous performance by analyzing where your feet are landing, for how long the foot stays on the treadmill, body posture, the relation between the hip and the foot. It is an easy thing to do, just put your recording camera on a support somewhere ahead of you. I’m telling you, videotaping yourself is loads of fun and also highly efficient.

from Jerry, Oklahoma - www.runreviews.com

16. Technique

Try to follow the same running technique as the one you use for ground running.

from Petra, Lincolnshire UK - petraruns.blogspot.com

17. Use the safety cord

Treadmills are great for many reasons. One of them is that it has a stop system that activates when running mistakes are detected. All you have to do is clip the safety cord to your attire. For example, if you part too much from the front, the button will shut down the treadmill. It is one concern that you don’t have to bear anymore because the machine does it for you.

from Donnie Lincoln,Nebraska

18. Wait...

You don’t want to subject yourself to any disaster, right? In order to safely get on and off the treadmill, just make sure you wait for the treadmill to stop.

from Patrick, Amsterdam

19. The console

Don’t stick yourself to the control console. Just let it do your thing while you continue your workout somewhere in the middle of the belt. Of course, make sure you have easy access to the control buttons. You never know when you might have to stop the whole thing.

from Timmy, Salt Lake City - rossy.fastrunningblog.com/

20. Be focused

Even if treadmill running easily becomes routine, try to keep focused. You can’t afford losing concentration because you might just as easily slip. It is not very different from outdoor running where it’s necessary to watch out for rocks and roots and other hidden obstacles. Either way you have to make sure you don’t get too lost in your music or your thoughts.

from Ursu,Bicaz Romania - www.runreviews.com

21. Match your abilities

Treadmills offer very effective training and it is great how you can manipulate all the options that the control console offers. Just don’t exceed the speed if you know you can’t handle it. Gradually increase speed and distance by making sure they match your abilities.

from Abi, Rhode Island - www.jognewlondon.com

22. Put the treadmill near a mirror

It’s easy to evaluate your every move when you have a reflecting surface near you. A treadmill enables this possibility since it can easily be set near a large mirror where you can follow your posture, stride length and knee lift.

from Jerry, Oklahoma - www.runreviews.com

23. Experiment with the programs

You can’t know what program suits you if you don’t try some. After experiencing different possibilities you can make a knowledgeable decision.

from Jerry, Oklahoma - www.runreviews.com

24. Wear light running shoes

For this kind of training you can wear light running shoes, they will increase your speed. Treadmills have efficient systems of absorbing shocks which enable smooth workout

Vasilis, Athen -Grecee

25. Switch it Up!

To stave off boredom, try changing the settings frequently during a workout. Incline, speed, etc… this will help prevent the frustration that can come from staring at the timer on the console.

from Jill - www.jillwillrun.com

26. Wear a heart rate monitor chest strap

The hand sensors for heart rate are not accurate. Wear a heart rate monitor chest strap for a more accurate reading of your heart rate while exercising. from Coach Liz – http://tntcoachliz.blogspot.com

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