There’s a lot of benefit when running on a treadmill as opposed to running outside. Namely the climate control.
But if you are dedicated to running a certain distance at a specific speed you need accuracy.
Which makes one to question, “Are treadmills really all that accurate?”
Read on so you know if you should rely on treadmills at all.
Treadmills have been among the most popular cardiovascular equipment in the world for a long time. These machines are ubiquitous inside gyms or health clubs, and they have found their ways into the homes of people who would like to lose weight or just improve their overall health in a private setting.
Both manual (non-motorized) and motorized treadmills are available in the market today. In manual treadmills, whether flat-belt or curved belt, the walking or running action of the user’s feet drive the belt to rotate. In motorized treadmills, an electric motor drives the belt’s rotation and the user simply needs to keep pace with the motion to simulate the walking or running exercise.
Many manual and all motorized variants nowadays have built-in applications to monitor distance covered, speed, heart rate, and calories burned during the exercise. These figures are quite important to treadmill users as they are key indicators of the progress of their cardiovascular activity and even their long-term health plan.
The pertinent question with regard to these computations is: are treadmills accurate? This question of accuracy is applicable to all exercise equipment that have similar built-in functions, but for this specific article, the focus will be on the treadmill.
Contents
Are Treadmills Accurate For Distance?
Do Treadmills Underestimate Distance?
Measuring the distance covered during a treadmill exercise is important for validating the effectiveness of the activity regardless of the expertise or fitness level of the treadmill user. Distance, which can be measured through the metric or English measurement system, can be the basis for the user’s progress as s/he can progress by walking or running longer distances within a specific amount of time, or the same distance within progressively shorter time spans.
Distance can play a part in the user’s motivation as he or she strives to increase their distance covered (pertaining to improved endurance) or decrease their elapsed time (pertaining to improved speed).
There is still an ongoing debate regarding the accuracy of the distance measurement on treadmills.
Some fitness professionals believe that treadmills are accurate with regard to distance as it is a fairly straightforward and mechanical measurement process. The treadmill’s belt is of a specific length, and the treadmill computer is programmed to recognize this length as a constant.
The distance covered is then measured by the treadmill’s computer in real time using the number of revolutions of the belt during a particular exercise. Whether the treadmill is set to zero (no incline) or at a certain inclined angle, the distance covered remains the same as the belt’s length remains constant.
Other experts argue that the distance measurement is inaccurate for a few reasons. First, the treadmill’s belt is exposed to age, wear, and tear. Belts may become slightly distended through time, or the treadmill computer’s sensor may become inaccurate with age such that distance readings eventually become inaccurate.
Second, the amount of effort required to walk or run on a treadmill is very different from walking or running on real terrain. A manual treadmill offers more resistance, hence requiring more effort from the user. A motorized treadmill, in turn, offers less resistance than actual terrain as the movement of the belt helps the user trudge along at a certain pace, making the activity somewhat lighter and hence requiring less effort.
Overall, most fitness experts believe that the simple distance measurement of treadmills is fairly accurate. The dissent in opinion comes into consideration when the effort required from the user is factored in. Some tests have shown that runners felt less tired after running a mile on the treadmill than after running a mile on actual pavement.
In this case, some runners and experts believe that the motorized treadmill actually overestimates the actual distance covered by the runner. Tests using the manual treadmill brought an opposite result: because of the extra effort required to move the treadmill’s belt along, the counter underestimates the distance.
Are Treadmills Accurate For Speed?
The treadmills’ measurement of speed is also derived from the length of the belt and the number of belt rotations that the treadmill records within a specific period. As with the distance measurement, a treadmill’s speed reader can also be deemed fairly accurate when only simple straightforward measurements are considered. However, when compared to running on actual terrain, the effort required to propel the runner on a motorized treadmill is lower, while the effort required to move him/her along on a manual treadmill is higher.
Heart rate Accuracy?
Heart rate monitoring is very important to people who are trying to perform cardiovascular exercises to recover from some illness, as well as athletic individuals who would like to train themselves such that they achieve lower heart rates while exerting a large amount of effort in a physical exercise, presumably in preparation for a competitive event like a marathon.
Treadmills’ heart rate monitors are sufficiently accurate as long as they are used properly. These monitors are usually the contact type, requiring the user to place their hands for a few seconds on the readers/sensors usually located on the side support bars of the treadmill.
This could prove to be challenging especially if the user is running at a fast pace and they are inclining to move their arms naturally to maintain their momentum. Most treadmill exercises are most effective when there is complete freedom of movement, thus the user can only monitor his/her heart rate during specific intervals and not in real time. For advanced trainers like athletes, this is not an optimal setting.
Another factor that can affect the accuracy of the heart rate reading is the dirt that may accumulate on the contact sensors. Many fitness experts believe that a treadmill user is much better off using a chest strap heart rate monitor as it is in constant contact with the user’s skin.
Are Treadmills Accurate For Calories Burned?
For many people whose main purpose of getting on a treadmill is to lose excess fat and reduce weight, the number of calories burned during an activity is important. These people go on varying intensities of weight loss programs but overall, they must ensure that they burn more calories than they take in through their food.
Unfortunately, calorie counters on treadmills are generally regarded to be inaccurate. An individual’s rate of burning calories can differ based on several factors including ambient temperature, humidity, gender, age, weight, and fitness level. As an example, a novice runner with a high body fat percentage and a low level of daily physical activities will most probably burn a much higher number of calories than a regular marathon runner with a lower body fat percentage if they do the same treadmill exercise within the same amount of time.
Treadmills’ calorie counters are often programmed to match the caloric expenditures of an “averagely fit” individual. This definition is still by no means a reliable average, as it cannot account simultaneously for all the different factors that can affect a person’s calorie burning rate. One university in the US conducted an experiment with these equipment-mounted calorie measurement devices, and their results revealed that treadmills overestimated the number of calories burned by approximately thirteen percent (13%).
Conclusion
So, are treadmills accurate? The answer is no. However, does this mean that we should abandon using the treadmill? The answer is a more resounding “NO”. Treadmill measurements should be taken as estimates and not hard figures. What is more important is the health benefits and convenience that people can derive from using treadmills for their cardiovascular exercises. Yes, these measurements should be taken with a grain of salt, but they can also work as effective motivators for physical fitness goals, be it for a recovering medical patient, a person aiming for better health, or an athlete training for competition.
