There is continuing discussion among runners about the equality of treadmill running vs. running outside, particularly when it comes to hills. I am in the minority in my thinking that running on an inclined treadmill is not equal to running on a similarly inclined hill. My stance is that you aren’t raising your center of gravity any higher on an inclined treadmill than a level treadmill due to the continuously descending surface and therefore don’t perform any more work other than lifting the weight of your legs higher to accomodate the increased angle.
So, what about it? Do you perform the same amount of work running on an inclined treadmill surface as running up a hill of the same slope at the same pace and duration?
In addition to the reasons you give, an inclined treadmill doesn’t work certain muscles in the legs that are required for balance and footing the way that real hilly terrain does.
An inclined treadmill approximates hilly terrain, and can be useful in times of adverse weather conditions, but it ain’t the same thing.
Inclined treadmill running might not be the same as actual hill running, but you certainly can feel the difference between running on a flat treadmill and one that is inclined, especially if you have it set at 10% or higher. So you do get a more intense workout from the inclined treadmill. The “calories burned” meter goes way up as you increase the incline.
I keep mine flat so that I can run more minutes. I set it at 8.6 and run a 21 minute 3 mile. If it were inclined at all, I couldn`t go that long.