When you step onto the treadmill at Orangetheory Fitness, you’ll often hear the coach say,
“Set your treadmill to 1% incline — that’s our flat road.”
It sounds strange at first — isn’t flat supposed to be 0%?

Actually, 1% incline is a carefully chosen standard.
Here’s why:

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🌎 1. Outdoor Running Isn’t Truly Flat

When you run outside — on a sidewalk, street, or trail — you rarely encounter perfectly level ground.
There are always small slopes, bumps, imperfections, and natural resistance like wind.

Treadmills at 0% incline remove those real-world challenges:

• No hills
• No surface irregularities
• No headwind

Result:
➡️ Running at 0% feels easier than outdoor running.

Setting the treadmill to 1% incline adds a little extra effort to better match real outdoor conditions.

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📚 2. Research Supports the 1% Standard

A well-known study by Jones and Doust (1996) tested the energy demands of treadmill versus outdoor running.

They found that 1% incline best mimics the energy cost of running outside at speeds around 7–8 mph (a 9:00–8:00 min/mile pace).

Without that incline, treadmill runners don’t burn as many calories or work their cardiovascular system as hard as they would outdoors.

Bottom line:
➡️ 1% incline = outdoor flat effort
➡️ 0% incline = artificially easier

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🛠️ 3. Treadmills Have Deck Flex and Cushioning

Another reason? Mechanical deck flex.

Commercial-grade treadmills — like those at Orangetheory gyms — are built with shock-absorbing decks to reduce impact on your joints.

Every time your foot strikes the belt:

• The deck flexes slightly under you.
• This reduces the force you have to generate compared to solid ground.
• It gives you a tiny energy boost with each step.

Translation:
➡️ Running on a treadmill is mechanically easier than running on firm outdoor surfaces like concrete.

Setting a 1% incline compensates for this built-in flex, making your muscles work a little harder to recreate outdoor effort.

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🔥 4. Why Orangetheory Cares

Orangetheory workouts are precision-designed around heart rate zones to maximize fat burn, endurance, and strength.

If the treadmill effort were too easy:

• You might not hit your targeted heart rate zones (like the Orange Zone 🔥).
• You would burn fewer calories.
• You wouldn’t see the full benefits of the workout.

That tiny 1% incline adjustment helps ensure that your effort, heart rate, and results are true to the Orangetheory fitness science model.

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🧡 Final Thought

✅ Outdoor terrain is never perfectly flat.
✅ Scientific studies recommend a 1% incline to simulate outdoor energy demands.
✅ Treadmill decks flex and absorb shock, making running feel easier indoors.

➡️ That’s why 1% incline is the “real” flat road at Orangetheory Fitness — and why it’s essential for making your gym workout just as challenging and rewarding as the great outdoors.