I have only done my runs outside in the local park, however it’s getting pretty cold, and I’ve been going to the gym and doing 40 min interval walk/runs on the treadmill to a set programme on it.l so could complete C25K in the gym.
How do I do the runs on here on the treadmill? I’ve read somewhere that the gradient should be a certain percentage? However what about the speed for my runs/jogs?
Thanks in advance 🙂
I've done no running on treadmill but the speed will be very much up to you, remember keep it slow, you should be able to hold a conversation, speed will come as you progress. Good luck.
To make it resemble running outside set the gradient to 1-1.5.
The speed is up to you, but to run 5k in 30 mins you need to running at around 6mph or more.
Im quite a bit off 5k in 30 minutes right now...but I am trying to speed it up slightly 🙂
As a very experienced treadmill user (I did the whole of C25K on one 5 years ago), you can forget the incline. Just leave it a zero. Trust me, it will make *no* difference to you whatsoever. The only reason it's suggested is because of the lack of wind resistance - this makes treadmill running a slightly easier effort - you burn less calories for the same apparent speed.
What an incline doesn't do is replicate how the road feels and that's a bigger issue in my opinion - it might take a little getting used to. Just take it very easy at first - walk, then slow jog and then up to the speed you want.
But some questions first - do you know what speed/pace you're doing outside? And do you know what speed units the treadmill uses? Is it mph or km/h ?
I agree with John_W, the incline is not really needed, have a look here for an explanation
runnersworld.com/gear/a2083...
However, I do use the incline to change things and make the treadmill more interesting. For speed, you can usually adjust it gradually, so just start slow and increase as you see fit
Hi john, thanks for your reply.
I’m afraid I have no idea what speed I was doing outside (I do know it was slow!)
The treadmill uses km/hour.
OK, let's be conservative and assume you're jogging along at a nice and comfortable pace - one where you can breath at.
Get onto the treadmill (ask for instructions on how it works first!) and starting walking at say 3.0 km/h - that's nice and slow. Ramp it up to your fastest walking speed - that could be 4, 5, 5.5 or 6 km/h (whatever you're used to) .... get used to that walking pace - that's your BRISK walking speed. Then after a few mins, increase the speed a little until it's more comfortable to jog ... that could be 7, 7.5, 8.0 km/h etc. Use that speed as your running speed for C25K - and stick to it!
Hope that's of some help - good luck!
John
This sounds good, and I’ll give it a try at 3pm!
In my interval programme on the treadmill I’ve been walking at around 5km/h and it increases to 8.8km/h, however the faster periods are for shorter time than the programme asks so I’ll start off slower for the jogs and see how I get on.
Thanks very much 😊
In which case, operate the treadmill purely on manual (so "start" then adjust speed to your needs) so avoid any kind of program on it. Just check that it's not set to stop after a certain time - that happened to me the other weekend on a treadmill I wasn't familiar with - very irritating!
Keep that walk nice and brisk (go faster than 5 if you can manage it) and make sure that run speed is very comfortable.
So.....I walked at 6.5 and ran at 9...really pushed myself....and struggled, but got there! Wasn’t as bad as I thought (and the treadmill had a tv built in so Tenable distracted me 😀).
Covered just over 3k, but it’s only W3R1 so I guess I’ll cover more with the longer runs.
I fell away from C25K because I was going to the gym, but now no reason why I can’t do both 😀
Thanks for your advice, it was really helpful...(I had your advice on my phone screen till I got the hang of it!)
Well done! BUT .... reading that you're a gym-goer anyway, then it's not too surprising you tried to push yourself - that's very much a 'gym' mentality. For this... you really need to leave that idea at the gym doors. Running can be hard on the body - a lot of us pick up niggles or more serious injuries so ...
***IMPORTANT*** ... for a beginner, 9 km/h is quite quick ... please take it easy - there is NO need to 'struggle' or push yourself! You're in no rush!
Just think how nice it feels to complete the session feeling like you could repeat it - that is the pace you should be aiming for. So maybe dial it down to 8 or 8.5! Keep the pace nice and conversational - make sure your breathing is gentle! Honestly, you'll thank me 
And *forget* distance for the moment - it's a TIME-based program remember, despite the title.
But, well done anyway and great that you managed a successful treadmill run 
Will slow it down for the next time and maybe not find that second 3 minutes so horrendous 😫😂
In NO way should it be "horrendous"! Forget the gym-bunny mentality
Going on like that will see you injured in no time at all.
I repeat, try and go at a speed that feels very comfortable and where you finish feeling like you could carry on.
Okay...thank you, I am taking on board your advice as I want to complete this (and without injury!)
I will go down to 8 on Saturday 😊
Good to hear When I re-started running, I was 45 and hadn't run for 20 yrs or so. I got onto treadmill and just gradually went faster and longer each session without thinking what i was doing. I was wearing rubbish shoes too but anyway... After a month, I got very sore tendonitis which saw me out of action for 10 weeks. I decided C25K was the way to go (and decent shoes) - but I knew I had to slow it down so rigidly stuck to the same speed (for the runs) for the entire program. It worked really well and here I am... older and a lot wiser!
Good luck!
Intervals is a great way to get fast results.
As mentioned, you can set the incline to a small value to emulate wind resistance etc (0.5% is the figure I work to) but there's no law that says you have to. Your performance will improve regardless.
If you'd like to mix it up a bit, you could try intervals on gradient instead of speed - for example set the speed to a modest jogging pace and switch between 0% and 8%. Incline running recruits different muscle groups.
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