A treadmill gives you the opportunity to run, jog or walk indoors without concern for outdoor conditions. Many people simply jump on the treadmill and walk or run without ever touching the incline button. Skipping this treadmill feature means that you miss valuable aspects of your training. The incline measures the relationship of vertical to horizontal distance covered. When you set your incline at a grade of 3 percent, you are essentially gaining three feet of elevation for every 100 feet that you move forward.
Outdoor Conditions
Running on a treadmill closely matches the cardiovascular and calorie-burning benefits of running outside, but there are important differences. Running on a treadmill offers no wind resistance. The movement of the belt propels you slightly forward. To make up for those factors, set your incline between 1 and 3 percent, recommends Olympic running coach Nicholas Romanov on his website PoseTech.
Burn Calories
Using the treadmill incline degree function helps you burn more calories. Running or walking uphill takes more effort and energy. If you weigh 150 pounds and run on a flat belt for an hour at a 6 mph pace, you can expect to burn about 680 calories. Increase that incline to a 5 percent grade and burn an additional 150 calories during your hourlong workout. If you can sustain a 10 percent grade at 6 mph, you will burn almost 1,000 calories in the same period of time.
Improve Fitness
Tackling hills on the treadmill helps improve your overall fitness. According to Rick Morris, author of Treadmill Training for runners, hill running helps enhance aerobic endurance, builds strength, improves running efficiency, perfects your form, makes you more powerful and improves your ability to sustain higher speeds for longer periods of time. Use incline degrees up to 10 percent to simulate rolling hills or steady climbs or to run hill sprints.
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