Pros and Cons of Incline Trainers and Incline Treadmills

Incline trainers (also known as incline treadmills) are a relatively new exercise equipment innovation that combines the treadmill with the stepper. It is a treadmill in function but a stepper in type of training. It is essentially a treadmill that offers a very steep incline for intense simulated “hill climbing” workouts.

Some incline treadmills incline up to 40%. Some incline trainers also offer a downhill option to simulate walking or running downhill.

What’s so good about an incline trainer?

If you’ve ever exercised on a stair or step machine, you’ll appreciate the intensity and effort required to do a “climber-style” workout. That’s what incline treadmills offer, but they also offer the features and benefits of a regular treadmill. Yes, you can set them to lower inclines to work like a regular treadmill.

advantage

• Burn more calories. The steeper the slope, the more calories you will burn.
• If you don’t like running, but want an intense workout, incline treadmills will do the trick.
• Low impact training option. Get an intense workout while walking, which is much, much less impactful than running or jogging.
• Replica walk and run downhill. Running in real life includes running downhill, which uses different muscles than running on flat ground or uphill. Some incline treadmills offer downward inclines.
• If you get an incline trainer with iFit technology, you can run or walk on simulated terrain from around the world. Imagine the tremendous training opportunities. You can train for a specific breed in your home. If you’re running the hilly Seattle Marathon, then schedule the Seattle Marathon route on your iFit Live with Google Maps and you can run the Seattle Marathon course right at home.
• The best of both worlds: An incline trainer is really just a treadmill that offers a very steep incline. You can still run on these machines.

cons

• Shorter walking platform. No incline treadmill I’ve found offers a 60″ long deck. That said, you can still comfortably run on 50″ to 55″ decks (a common running deck length).
• If you set it to a very high incline (greater than 15-20%), you may need to hang on the handles. I find that holding on to the handles while exercising reduces the effort. Holding on is a help I like to avoid. I prefer to set the incline to a lower degree and not have to hold on to the handles. When I train on steppers, I set the workout to a lower speed so I can do the workout without hanging onto the handles. That said, don’t compromise your safety by not holding on to the handles.