A Virtual Treadmill
When you take time to analyze it, what does a treadmill do for a runner or walker? It forces him or her to run or walk at a particular speed and on a particular incline. And it does this for minute after minute and, in the extreme, even hour after hour.
In contrast, when you are running or walking on the road or trail, unless you have someone with a very fixed speed who runs or walks beside you and relentlessly tells you to keep his or her pace, it can be very challenging to maintain your pace (minutes per mile or kilometer) and cadence (steps per minute).
If you and this other person have a similar cadence, then you are at an advantage over someone who is training with a coach who is much shorter or taller than him or her (because their two cadences will be different because of widely different leg lengths). If you have ever had the same cadence as a running or walking partner, then you can well appreciate this. It makes the workout almost effortless because your body is mirroring the pace and cadence of the other body. Another example can be found in the tennis world. If you have ever seen identical twins play doubles tennis together, then you have very likely witnessed how they can naturally walk in almost perfect unison. American professional tennis players and identical twins Bob and Mike Bryan are a great example of this phenomenon.
So how can you get the benefits of a treadmill while running or walking outside? If you have your own treadmill, then you could put it outside for your workouts. But there are some drawbacks:
- You will shorten the life of your treadmill by exposing it to the elements of nature.
- Your scenery will never change.
- You are not running or walking with others — unless you have multiple, side-by-side treadmills outside!
- You cannot use it in weather extremes (such as lightning-free rain or in snow), unless it is covered and protected — not exactly as “outside” as you would get by being on the road or trail!
- You cannot take it with you when traveling.
Although it is difficult to imitate a treadmill’s constant or controllable incline on the road or trail, there are two portable gadgets that you can use to create a virtual treadmill and imitate a real treadmill’s ability to challenge you to maintain your pace and cadence.
- GPS wrist unit: This is like a speedometer on your wrist. Configure yours so that it displays in large digits your current pace, and then check it often during a workout on the road or trail. You can even configure some units so that they beep at you when your pace drifts too far away from your target pace.
- Portable metronome: This clip-on device is like a tachometer on your waist. Set it to beep for every step according to the cadence that works for you. Then simply move your legs and feet to keep this rhythm during your walk or run.
These are the only two gadgets that you need to create a portable, virtual treadmill.
Do you use these two gadgets? Please leave a comment here. Thanks!
