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Old 06-23-20, 11:13 AM
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carleton
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Originally Posted by taras0000
Whats the resistance like on that treadmill? Using rollers to compare, is the resistance quality like a 2.5", 3", or 4" drum?
Many people say that it feels slightly more difficult than running on flat ground. Personally, I find it to be the same or less. I would say the 4" drum. This may be because I'm heavier and it's easier for me to get the treadmill going when I step as the majority of the load is vertical and almost none horizontal. It's the vertical component of the step that gets it moving. That's why I have to be up on the front of it, at the incline.

The glute engagement that people talk about, which is real, is probably related to one having to keep the shoulders back and hips forward to run properly on this, which is sort of like how load comes through the body during a front squat. Engagement is more glutes than normal which was probably lots of hamstrings.

Speed changes are exactly like with 4" rollers, too, instantaneous. This makes me confident going all out in ways that I wasn't comfortable doing on a motorized treadmill where I'd have to fiddle with the speed buttons at full stride or crudely hop off. With this, just dial it back step by step or simply let the track take you back a few inches off of the incline and you'll slow. So, doing full-gas sprints are just like doing blowouts on rollers. As best I can, I can mimic the form used by the sprinter in the spikes in the video above (albeit not as gracefully), running only on the front of my feet.

Running "midfoot" is easier as the angle of the incline sort of mates with the angle of the foot. I do find that if I'm lazy and dragging my feet, my heels will catch unexpectedly, even with low-heel running shoes (Nike Free 4.0).
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