uphill walking

J

jinge69

0
how does walking on a treadmill (without holding on to the rails) at a steep incline compare with jogging at a minimum incline, considering your workout and heartrate is the same for both?
 
As far as cardiovascular benefits go, there's no difference (provided, as you say, that you reach the same target heart rate).

Uphill walking targets your glutes quite well...a lot of my clients love it! Watch out for shin pain...the ankle dorsiflexors (ie, muscles of the anterior leg) are much more sollicited in uphill walking than regular jogging. If you are going to do a lot of uphill walking, start a good strengthening/stretching regimen for these muscles.

:)
 
hmm, guess i should have read this post before yesterday ... my shins are killing my because i just tried the uphill jog on the treadmill because i see so many people doing it (mind you, half of them are holding onto the rails -- kinda defeats the purpose, i think) ...
 
Trust me, if you're at a significant incline, you're hanging off of 'em...the basic idea of cardio and intensity is that the more larger muscle groups you use, the more you can kick up the intensity of your training...therefore, pumping your arms kicks up the intensity. Besides, it is more functional to use the arms...if you go for a hike, you won't have a railing to hold on to.
 
i spose...i never tried it at a high incline...will have to have a go when theres no one around to see me go flyin off the back
 
A higher incline should increase the intensity of your workout. At my old health club I always would see people walking at the steepest incline, yet holding on for dear life to the handle bars.

If you want to burn more calories, without increasing the pace, you can definately up the incline as your heart rate should increase.

Holding on, not swinging your arms, can be problematic for some. Basically 1) you never walk while holding onto something, so why get into the habit of doing so on a treadmill? 2) Swinging your arms helps keep the body in motion with the legs, and also the arm movements will help burn hopefully a few more calories.

I would recommend doing your best to keep the arms swinging and then eventually move on to running on a 0% grade, then gradually running/jogging uphill or even downhill.
 
running downhill ... now there's a quick way to get shin splits ... is there an advantage to running downhill?
 
Downhill running is primarly an eccentric actions as the legs catch the body weight. This can produce greater increases in leg strength and speed. But also a great way to induce greater muscle soreness.

I don't think I would attribute downhill running to a greater risk of shin splints. Since it's an overuse injury, surely if you interspersed some downhill running and monitored your progress/client you could avoid any shin splints.

I believe the Dallas Cowboys actually have a downhill track and the Tennis Center @ College Park that I work at is installing a downhill track shortly. Should be a fun addition to training.
 
Running downhill will increase your stride length, while uphill running increases stride frequency and leg turnover. These types of running are usually used by sprinters and not necassary for our average joe ;)
 
Lol, of course...but I don't think anyone is looking to specifically increase their stride length or frequency specifically...but if they are, that's the way ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top