You’ve probably been in the gym and seen a few different looking treadmills on the gym floor, but what are the differences between your standard treadmill, a skillrun and a skillmill? Are you using the best one for your needs?

At TFD we have a combination of treadmills upstairs, but you’ve probably noticed the two treadmills with the slated base on the end nearer the stairs, these are the skillrun treadmills. They functions very similarly to our standard treadmills, but they also have a few extra features.

Benefits of the Skillrun

  • Sled Training mode improves your sprinting and acceleration, working on explosive power.
  • Parachute Training mode uses resistance to improve your top speed and maximum velocity.
  • Optimise your technique and efficiency using the Biofeedback parameters displayed on screen.
  • The gradient of these treadmills also goes higher than the standard treadmill to 25%, but it also offers a decline mode to simulate a -3% downhill gradient.

You may also have seen the curved base treadmill on the gym floor and wondered what it was for, this is the skillmill. It is a non-motorised treadmill that is designed to blend cardiovascular training with power, speed, and aglility training. It matches your speed, so how hard you push it round is how fast it will go, depending on the resistance settings. It has a curved surface which will help you engage more muscle groups and helps the machine mimic running outdoors.

Benefits of the Skillmill

  • No speed limit – the belt moves as fast as you do so great for sprint training or short intervals.
  • Versatile for challenging workouts. They can be used for walking, running, strength training and sprint training among other applications. 
  • Muscle engagement. All the power the skillmill receives comes from you and your muscles. Due to this fact, it keeps more of your muscles engaged for longer. 
  • Speed and power development. The high-intensity nature of skillmill workouts and the resistance they offer to your legs helps you to develop explosive power in your lower body muscle groups.
  • Running form. As the skillmill is designed to replicate real-world running with its curved surface, it can help you improve your posture while running (minimising the risk of injury).

Which is better?

It depends on your goals. For those who want to improve lung capacity and train for long distance running, a treadmill would be better. For those who want to improve their functional muscle fitnessand improve lower body power , the skillmill would be better. Ultimately a combination of the two will give you the most improvement but if you’d like ideas for how to incorporate them into your workouts, grab a member of the team who will be happy to show you. 

Blog by Tabby Bond – Personal Trainer (TAB Fitness)