Is running at an incline on a treadmill really equivalent to running up a hill?

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If you are running up a hill in the real world, it’s harder than running on a flat surface because you need to do all the work required to lift your body mass vertically. The work is based on the force (your weight) times the distance travelled (the vertical distance).

But if you are on a treadmill, no matter what “incline” setting you put it at, your body mass isn’t going anywhere. I don’t see how there’s any more work being done than just running normally on a treadmill. Is running at a 3% incline on a treadmill calorically equivalent to running up a 3% hill?

In: Engineering

9 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

In my experience, yes.

An incline on a treadmill is noticeably more difficult in the same way that running up hill is difficult. I run on a treadmill all winter because it’s cold where I am, and I definitely notice that in the spring, I find that I’m really well prepared for running up hill and I can run MUCH faster on flat ground than before the winter

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