Is the Zero Runner the Same as Running?

Audio Transcript

Coach Sinead: Hey everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you’re off to a great day so far, and that you are enjoying this podcast.

If you have a question you’d like one of our expert coaches to answer in an upcoming episode, you can submit it at runnersconnect.net/daily.

We would love to hear from you and help you with whatever you have on your mind. So please do feel free to submit any questions you have.

Today, we have a really fantastic question from Jacqueline on the Zero Runner machine.

Jacqueline: Hi all. I love your product, and was wondering if you could give me an opinion regarding the Zero Runner cross-trainer? It’s made by Octane Fitness. I look forward to hearing from you.

Coach Sinead: This is a really great question, and one that I don’t believe we’ve been asked yet. No one has asked us about the Zero Runner.

There’s a pretty cool and upcoming piece of technology in the running world. So for those of you who might not know what a Zero Runner is, it’s made by a company called Octane Fitness, and it is an elliptical-like machine, but with heavy points at the hips and knees to allow a true running stride without the impact of a treadmill or a running outside.

It also has over twice the stride length than an elliptical so it is quite a bit different from an elliptical.

It is more of a running motion that you are doing on a Zero Runner, and so it really is just running without impact.

It’s like running on air; it reminds me of an AlterG which, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the AlterG, it is an Anti-Gravity Treadmill.

Sounds a little sci-fi – a little fictional maybe, but it’s a pretty cool piece of technology that allows you to run at a lower weight.

Ssay you want to run at 90% of your weight; you can go in and make the adjustments necessary on the AlterG.

It allows you to run at 90% of your weight, or even up to 20% of your weight, if you want to go really high on the AlterG.

A lot of runners use the AlterG as a way to prevent injury, and also recover from injury.

The Zero Runner is becoming pretty popular among the running community; even the elite running community.

It’s becoming more and more competitive with the AlterG, and there have been quite a few elite runners who absolutely swear by the Zero Runner.

For instance, Carrie Archer has used hers to come back from injury, and even win two half marathons as she prepared for the last Olympic trials.

There are quite a few runners who do already swear by it, and I do want to describe the Zero Runner a little bit more for those who might not be too familiar with it.

It’s a very small and compact machine and it takes up a lot less room than an elliptical or a treadmill.

It has no motor so it’s very quiet – much quieter than a treadmill or an AlterG, and it comes with some interesting perks that your standard piece of machinery does not have.

First off, it comes with a smart-link custom app for Garmin Forerunner watches, and even iOS devices, and this allows runners to track their indoor work on the Zero Runner, just as they would outside.

This really allows you to get real-time data on your pace, your time, your distance and even your heart rate. It comes with a custom app or Garmin watches and iOS devices.

Another thing is it has stride tracing, so through the smart-link app, runners can actually view the shape of their stride and make necessary adjustments, depending on where they might have weaknesses.

It’s really good for perfecting your gait, and making sure your gait is remaining efficient even when you’re tired.

One more feature about the Zero Runner is that it does have customizable resistance, so while there isn’t any incline option on the Zero Runner, you can customize the resistance – you can either decrease it to focus more on the sprinting, or activating your back side.

Or you can increase it to focus more on strength works.

You can definitely play around with that, that’s where it’s a little more similar to the elliptical in that regard.

But all in all, it does simulate the same basic motion that you would get in running. You’re also getting a very similar aerobic workout out of it.

So while it might low impact, it is not low effort by any means.

I will say that a lot of runners report that after getting off of the Zero Runner, they will feel a lot of soreness in their core, and a lot of soreness in their hamstrings and glutes.

So it is more similar to an elliptical in that way; I would say without using the Zero Runner is a great way to supplement your running.

I wouldn’t necessarily replace a lot of your running with this; I think it’s a better cross-training method and a nice way to even recover from an injury or get through an injury, because again it’s zero impact so it’s a great recovery tool.

It’s also a good alternative to running because you’re getting very similar aerobic benefits.

The only thing is if you’re preparing for a race, you do want to make sure you do a lot of your running on solid ground in preparation for a solid ground race.

But all in all, if you’ve got the money, or you have the Zero Runner in your local gym which would be pretty astonishing, I think.

This is an up and coming technology, so it will be available to more and more runners as the years go by.

But if you are lucky enough to already have one in your local gym, it’s a great tool for recovering from injury and also a nice way to supplement your running, if you’re just trying to reduce your overall impact while still keeping up that aerobic and cardiovascular fitness.

I will say I am pretty interested in trying one myself. I’ve yet to try a Zero Runner, and I am really itching to try one.

I am sure it’s pretty similar to the AlterG in that way, and that it’s like running on air.

Jacqueline, thank you so much for submitting that question. It’s an original one. We have not yet gotten one on the Zero Runner, so it’s a pleasure to answer that one today for you.

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If you have a question you would like one of our coaches to answer in an upcoming chat, you can submit it at runnersconnect.net/daily.

We would love to hear from you on absolutely anything, whether it be something to do with nutrition, racing, training whatever the case may be, we’re happy to help.

Thanks so much again for tuning in, and until next time, I hope you have a great run today.