The treadmill appears straightforward: step on, press start, walk or run. Yet countless exercisers develop habits that undermine their results, increase injury risk, or make workouts less effective than they should be. Even experienced runners often carry flaws in their treadmill technique that they wouldn't exhibit outdoors.
Identifying and correcting these common mistakes can transform your treadmill experience, delivering better results from the same time investment while keeping you injury-free.
Mistake 1: Holding the Handrails While Running
This is perhaps the most common treadmill error. Gripping the handrails during running or brisk walking might feel more secure, but it creates multiple problems.
Why It's Problematic
- Reduces calorie burn: Supporting your weight on the rails decreases the work your legs perform, reducing energy expenditure by up to 20-25%
- Creates unnatural posture: Holding rails forces an awkward body position that can strain shoulders, back, and wrists
- Prevents proper arm swing: Natural arm movement contributes to balance and overall workout effectiveness
- Provides false confidence: If you need rails to maintain the pace, the pace is too fast for your current fitness
If you feel you need handrails, reduce your speed or incline until you can walk or run hands-free. Use rails only briefly for balance checks, then release. Build up speed gradually as your balance and fitness improve.
Mistake 2: Looking Down at Your Feet
It's natural to want to watch where you're stepping, but constantly looking down at the belt or your feet causes significant problems.
Looking down shifts your centre of gravity forward, throwing off your natural balance. It also places strain on your neck and upper back, leading to pain after longer sessions. Additionally, the moving belt can create a disorienting visual effect when watched continuously.
The Proper Approach
Keep your gaze forward, looking straight ahead or slightly above the console level. Trust that the belt will be there—it hasn't moved since you started. If you need to check the console, glance down briefly with your eyes rather than dropping your entire head.
Mistake 3: Overstriding
Overstriding—landing with your foot well ahead of your body—is common on treadmills because the moving belt encourages a reaching motion. However, this creates a braking force with each step and increases impact on joints.
- Land with your foot beneath or slightly behind your hip, not in front
- Aim for quicker, shorter strides rather than long, reaching steps
- Your foot should touch down relatively softly, not with a heavy heel strike
- Focus on lifting your feet rather than reaching forward
Mistake 4: Skipping the Warm-Up
Many people jump on the treadmill and immediately crank up the speed, eager to maximise their limited workout time. This approach increases injury risk and actually reduces workout effectiveness.
Cold muscles are less flexible and more prone to strains. Your cardiovascular system needs time to adjust to increased demand. Jumping into high intensity also means you'll fatigue faster, often resulting in shorter overall workout duration.
The Solution
Spend at least five minutes warming up at an easy pace before increasing intensity. This allows muscles to warm up, joints to lubricate, and your heart rate to rise gradually. You'll actually perform better during the main workout and recover faster afterward.
Mistake 5: Running at the Same Speed Every Session
Doing the identical workout every time is comfortable and familiar, but it leads to fitness plateaus. Your body adapts to repeated identical stresses, becoming more efficient—which sounds positive but actually means you're burning fewer calories and stimulating less adaptation.
Include different workout types each week: easy recovery sessions, moderate steady-state runs, interval training, hill workouts, and longer slower sessions. Variety challenges your body in different ways, leading to continued improvement.
Mistake 6: Setting Incline Too High and Holding On
Cranking the incline to steep levels feels productive, but if you need to grip the handrails and lean back to manage it, you're negating the benefits while straining your lower back and shoulders.
Extreme incline with rail support places your body in an unnatural position. The calorie readings on the console assume you're supporting your own weight, so the displayed burn is inaccurate. The strain on your lower back from leaning backward can cause pain and injury.
Better Approach
Choose an incline you can manage with proper upright posture and no handrail support. A moderate incline walked properly provides more benefit than a steep incline walked improperly. Build incline tolerance gradually over weeks.
Mistake 7: Neglecting the Cool-Down
Finishing a hard workout and immediately stepping off the treadmill might seem efficient, but it can cause blood to pool in your legs, leading to dizziness or even fainting. It also delays recovery and increases post-workout soreness.
- Always spend at least three to five minutes cooling down
- Gradually reduce speed rather than stopping suddenly
- Allow your heart rate to decrease to near-normal levels before stopping
- Stretch major muscle groups while they're still warm
Mistake 8: Wrong Footwear
Worn-out shoes, fashion sneakers, or footwear designed for other sports can compromise your workout and increase injury risk. Running shoes are specifically designed to handle repetitive impact and forward motion.
Replace running shoes every 500-800 kilometres. Choose shoes designed for running or walking, not cross-training or court sports. Ensure proper fit—your running shoes should be about half a size larger than dress shoes to accommodate foot swelling during exercise.
Mistake 9: Training Too Hard, Too Often
Enthusiasm leads many exercisers to push hard every session, believing more intensity always equals better results. In reality, this approach leads to overtraining, burnout, and injury.
Your body improves during recovery, not during the workout itself. Training hard tears down muscle tissue and depletes energy stores; rest and nutrition rebuild you stronger. Without adequate recovery, you accumulate fatigue and gradually decline rather than improve.
The 80/20 Rule
Aim for approximately 80% of your training at easy, conversational intensities and only 20% at harder efforts. This distribution, supported by research on elite athletes, produces better long-term results than constant hard training.
Mistake 10: Ignoring Pain Signals
There's a difference between the discomfort of exertion and pain that signals injury. Pushing through genuine pain—sharp sensations, joint pain, or anything that worsens as you continue—risks turning minor issues into serious injuries requiring weeks or months of recovery.
- Normal exertion feels like burning muscles and elevated heart rate
- Warning signs include sharp or stabbing sensations, joint pain, pain that increases as you continue, and pain that affects your gait
- If something feels wrong, stop and assess before continuing
- Persistent pain lasting more than a few days warrants professional evaluation
Correcting these common mistakes doesn't require special skills or equipment—just awareness and intention. Pay attention to your form, listen to your body, and approach your training with intelligence rather than pure effort. The result will be safer, more effective workouts that deliver the results you're working toward.