Hi, maybe a stupid question, but I am new in Zwift. During races am I supposed to adjust the inclination as shown in the upper-right box? I ask because I want to be honest…but not stupid, and I think very few people follow the inclination during races.
Thanks
No, you don’t need to adjust the elevation of your treadmill if you don’t want to.
Thanks, neither in races?
It’s your choice if you want to change the elevation during races, there are no rules stating you have to.
Even if you are running at a set speed for a long period of time, upping the incline to only 1 or 2 will help you avoid shin splints and other injuries (plus burn more calories, engage more muscles, and simulate outdoor running more effectively). Link [10 Beginner Tips For Running On A Treadmill - [2022 Edition]]
Thanks, I know it and I usually train with 1-2% of inclination. But in race is it for sure easier if you are at 0%. That’s why I asked
Hi,
I could not find an article in Internet that says running with 0% incline is like running downhill. But if you put it in 1 or 2% it works better because you “recreate” resistance (like wind, etc.)
I’ll try to find it…
You are better off increasing the speed of the belt instead of adding incline which could cause other issues. I would suggest varying the incline throughout the run.
There is not definitive proof for setting it at 1%.
Elevated treadmills are an interesting physics problem. There’s two factors, I think. One is that for the same cadence and speed you need to raise your rear foot further to make up for the elevation (then the foot falls less). The other effect is that when you’re riding a flat treadmill you don’t need to apply any propulsive force against the belt (your center of mass is stationary, and there’s no wind resistance). On the other hand, when the belt is inclined, you need to resist the force of gravity pulling you downward. So your foot needs to push against the belt with a component in the direction of belt motion. So even riding a bike on the treadmill, where there is no independent raising and lowering of feet, it’s harder with the treadmill inclined, because you need to resist the pull of gravity.
On the bike, the trainer measures power, so even if the trainer “difficulty” is set to zero, you go slower up hills, because Zwift has a physics-based model for power versus speed versus hill slope. But in running, it just has speed from the treadmill, not power, so it cannot adjust for hill slope. Instead the treadmill needs to incline to provided added difficulty.
It would obviously be better if Zwift could directly control the treadmill inclination, then to know that everyone in the race was using that. Otherwise the hills are completely irrelevant.
In zwift run series October 22, 2022 the inclination is unrealistic. Who runs uphill for a 10k unless running Pikes Peak Marathon? Suggest more realistic and more frequent prompts to change incline vs changes every 0.5 k or 1.5K . The last 1.5k was at 5%. Would prefer something that matches the course that is more realistic. When matching the actual courses the changes are often too quick or too steep for running since I have to constantly self adjust the incline. I usually don’t go over 6%. so if the course is 12% I am doing 6%.