there are four of the 4front woodway treadmills at the gym i go to. they are wonderful. best thing ive ever ran on, and it seems they have a pretty good reputation around here.
we have an opportunity to purchase a couple more treadmills for our gym at work. currently have a couple of commercial precor units that are decent. my input was requested and i would LOVE to get a couple of 4fronts, but i’m pretty sure they are gonna be beyond our budget.
the curves are cheaper and i may be able to swing getting a couple of them, but im not sure how well received they will be to our employees that are used to running on the typical belt driven, powered treadmills. heck, i dont know how i myself would like it, and i dont know of anywhere i could try one out.
so, those that have experience with them, any compare / contrast opinions on them versus a traditional commercial treadmill, or a woodway 4front?
I think it may depend on your demographic of your clientele. The curve belts are good for some interval work and alike, but for folks looking to get on for a steady state brainless, workout they will not get used. In my gym they are used more by the trainers doing circuit work with there clients. I like them, but only get on them to do some turn-over work.
I have used one for a few short runs so don’t consider this an expert opinion, but I doubt this would be a good choice unless you really just need an “overflow” treadmill that probably won’t be needed that often. For reference, at my YMCA it can be difficult to get time on any treadmill during peak hours except the 3 woodway curves, they’re rarely in use. It’s not that they’re bad, far from it, it’s just that they require more focus than a flat treadmill. Granted I’ve only used them a couple times so I would probably get better, but I couldn’t hold a consistent pace on there while watching a TV or reading a book.
They also feel much more challenging. I think I read somewhere that it can be like a 2:1 ratio of miles compared to a flat, powered treadmill (i.e. 1 mile on the curve is comparable to 2 miles on a flat one). In my experience I think there may be truth to that due to the mental effort, the fact that you are pushing the tread instead of just moving your body, and because you are running uphill the entire time.
What makes them so tricky is the way they work, you move the tread by placing your foot on the up-slope of the curve, then riding the tread down to the bottom. The speed of your run is completely dependent upon where along the up-slope you place your foot. For a newbie like me it took incredible focus to keep my foot strike consistently in the same spot, and I often made errors that would cause me to abruptly slow down or speed up. I think these facts would make the less-dedicated at your gym avoid the curve. That being said, it is probably one of those things that gets easy with time, and I could see someone loving it if they got good with it due to the quality of the tread and the (presumably) lower impact.
I run on a Woodway curve at least weekly for 40 to 60 minutes at a time. There is one at the endurance sport studio I also bike at, as well as 2 regular Woodway treadmills. I am a fan of the curve, it is a hard workout but it forces me to focus on my stride. I also have arthritis in both knees and can run on the curve with no pain. I am a huge fan and happy that I have access to one.
I think woodway curves are for sprinting and for walking. I don’t think there’s much point to running on them, it’s really hard without any obvious benefit.
I agree with Tulkus. Personally I’d love my gym to get one. I have to invoke my glutes a bunch more to make the curve work while walking - I haven’t run on one.
I was introduced to the curve at rehab for hip surgery (labrum/FAI). Under activation of glutes and other core stabilizers is an on-going problem for me and if I had the room I’d buy a curve b/c that’s how much I think I’d benefit by having ready access to one.
I do not think anyone other than the truly motivated would use it. It looks weird, it is awkward to use, and the psyche of many is to only put out a certain amount of effort and that things requiring them to go beyond that are avoided.
We had one at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. It was used for sprints to work on turnover and form. I tried running longer, but it isn’t a great option for that. For my own garage I found a used Woodway Desmo and it was great. Then I moved to a climate where I can run outside and sold the Woodway.