Treadmill Running: Muscles Worked and How to Do It
TL;DR
Treadmill running works your quadriceps, which extend your knee with every stride's push-off and control your landing. Your glutes and hamstrings extend your hip to drive you forward, and your calves push off through your ankles with each step you take.
- Primary muscle:
- Quadriceps
- Secondary muscles:
- Calves, Glutes, Hamstrings
Muscles worked
Your quadriceps work through every stride of treadmill running, extending your knee to push off and controlling the bend in your knee as your foot lands.
Your glutes and hamstrings extend your hip to drive your leg back and propel you forward, working harder the faster you run or the steeper the incline.
Your calves push you off the belt through your ankle with every stride, and they work even harder if you increase the incline.
Log Treadmill Running in PR Streak
PR Streak's library has 873 exercises, each with photos and step-by-step instructions like this one. Log this move and see what you lifted last time right next to every set, with every PR caught automatically and a chart for every exercise.
How to do it
- To begin, step onto the treadmill and select the desired option from the menu. Most treadmills have a manual setting, or you can select a program to run. Typically, you can enter your age and weight to estimate the amount of calories burned during exercise. Elevation can be adjusted to change the intensity of the workout.
- Treadmills offer convenience, cardiovascular benefits, and usually have less impact than running outside. A 150 lb person will burn over 450 calories running 8 miles per hour for 30 minutes. Maintain proper posture as you run, and only hold onto the handles when necessary, such as when dismounting or checking your heart rate.
Form tips
- Land with your foot roughly under your hips rather than reaching out in front of you with each stride.
- Keep a slight forward lean from your ankles, not from bending at the waist.
- Increase the incline gradually to add more glute and calf work without adding impact.
- Only hold the handles when adjusting settings or checking your heart rate, not while running, so your arms can swing naturally.
Exercise details
| Equipment | Machine |
|---|---|
| Level | Beginner |
Used by lifters following PPL, 5x5, upper/lower, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does treadmill running build muscle?
It maintains and lightly conditions your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings and calves, but running is primarily a cardiovascular activity. For meaningful muscle growth in these muscles, pair running with resistance exercises like squats at a moderate rep range.
Does incline change which muscles running works?
Yes. A higher incline shifts more work onto your glutes and calves as you push more directly upward with each stride, while running on a flat belt keeps the emphasis more evenly spread across your quadriceps and hamstrings.
More quadriceps exercises
Exercise instructions and photos come from the free-exercise-db library, public domain, the same library used inside the PR Streak app.
