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The Technogym MyRun is the first treadmill that has what it takes to get me off the road. ;)
Sponsored Post: Technogym provided me with the product for this review at my request. This had no influence on the content of my post. The article is written indipendently and reflects exclusively my personal experiences.
Inhalt / Content
Smart Treadmills?
Little backstory: since the beginning of the Corona epidemic, not only the number of virtual running events has increased. I also see more and more runners on Strava who are suddenly sitting on their bikes and reeling off their kilometres with a smart trainer in the basement. Although I am a convinced all-weather runner, I have sometimes been jealous of this training alternative. However, I wouldn’t want to get on a bike for that.
Zwift is also available for runners. So with a smart treadmill, I could also dive into this virtual training world. At least sometimes. But to be honest, I have yet to see a truly smart treadmill – even though many manufacturers use this term. Often it just refers to a large display and built-in training programmes, but these are often rigid and not very smart. Or there is an “entertainment system” with touchscreen, Spotify and Netflix connection. This then also includes the more convenient operation of the built-in training programmes. But they remain mostly closed systems, which are ultimately too inflexible for me.
Of course, there is also the option of using the Zwift pod or even the Stryd to make any treadmill “smart”. But that’s more of a compromise solution. Where are the really smart treadmills?!
Zwift itself lists a whole range of compatible models. But there is only one model the platform even uses in its own advertising: the Technogym MyRun.
ReviewTechnogym MyRun
[php snippet=1]Technogym
The Italian manufacturer of fitness, health and sports products has been around for 35 years and is probably familiar to many gym members. Technogym is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and stands out for its combination of design and innovation.
The impressive range of really nice products extends from wellness at home to equipment at the Olympic Games. I find the digital connection via the cloud particularly exciting: the app “mywellness” consolidates the data from private running workouts, digital body scales or cross-trainers in the gym.
In the Technogym showroom I was allowed to try it all out and worked up quite a sweat. ;)
Product Selection and Specifications
Actually, you would think that it might be difficult to find the right treadmill for your home with all the choices available. From my point of view, the criteria for this look like this for an ambitious runner:
- The motor should have at least 2 hp continuous power to be suitable for regular training.
- The belt must be wide and long enough to be able to run safely even at higher speeds.
- The treadmill must be quiet enough not to disturb the other people living in the house.
Even the MyRun as the “smallest” model in the home category fulfils these requirements more than adequately. It clearly benefits from the experience of the manufacturer with the studio devices, because the Italians do not offer less than 3 hp continuous power. With this, speeds up to 20 km/h can be achieved – that is 3:00 min/km. So if you don’t run the marathon faster than 2:06 hours, you should be able to get by. ;)
The running surface is 1430 x 500 mm, which is perfectly acceptable, even if I would have liked it to be 1-2 centimetres longer. Just for the good feeling ;) On the other hand, the treadmill remains a bit more compact, which could play a role in the space requirement. The running surface cannot be folded up, but it can be tilted by up to 12% when running.
Setup
The unit, weighing over 90 kg, was (fortunately) delivered by a haulage company and assembled ready for use at its destination. Although the strong men had to go down to my basement to do it, it was completed in 20 minutes.
In addition to the necessary space for the device itself, it should be noted that there must also be enough space behind the treadmill – for safety reasons. You should also not miscalculate the space above, because in addition to the height of the running surface and your own body size, there is also the vertical movement when running and an individual “feel-good distance” to the ceiling. ;) Besides that, all you need is a plug socket nearby and you’re ready to go.
Operation
The freshly assembled Technogym MyRun is ready for its first run with just one press of the button. The Start and Stop button should already be pulsating green and a short press should start the treadmill at the slowest speed. Press it again to stop the workout.
To the right and left of this button are the two “Fast Tracks“, with which tilt and speed can be adjusted. The levers can be pushed forwards and backwards to increase or decrease the values. The simple, beautifully designed display permanently shows (from left to right) the elapsed time, the inclination of the treadmill, the set speed (in km/h or min/km) and the distance covered.
If you are now wondering why a smart treadmill has such a simple control element, you should urgently read on. ;)
Technogym LIVE
Even though the MyRun is already fully operable with its three buttons, the “Technogym LIVE”-App adds great value to the treadmill. This platform, together with the “mywellness” cloud, is the digital backbone of the entire Technogym range. It can be found on the huge displays of the studio treadmills as well as on the MyRun at home. The only difference is that a own tablet is needed to install the app.
The Technogym MyRun provides two storage and mounting options: there is a small storage directly above the start-stop switch and a flexible anchoring system on the top of the control panel. Of course, both can be used at the same time.
Equipped in this way, “Technogym LIVE” becomes a convenient control centre for the treadmill. The offer is divided into four areas: Sessions, Routines, Outdoors and Custom. This includes offers for motivating video workouts with a trainer (Sessions), structured training workouts (Routines), video running routes (Outdoors) and the possibility to control workouts individually or, for example, according to heart rate (Custom).
Connectivity
The digital connection of the Technogym MyRun is not limited to the in-house app. The treadmill responds via Bluetooth as a normal running sensor and provides not only the speed but also the cadence via this profile. This way, the treadmill can be used very flexibly in many scenarios.
Connection to Running Watches
You can connect the MyRun to your GPS watch as a running sensor, for example, and receive the exact speed values set on the treadmill in the recording. With Garmin watches, you can even use the “Virtual Run” mode to not only record the data, but also forward it to other services via Bluetooth.
Zwift, Rouvy, Kinomap, …
The world of virtual indoor training apps is getting bigger and bigger. Nowadays, we runners are no longer left out, but are explicitly invited to join in – even free of charge in many cases. Zwift and Rouvy provide runners with free access and are two really exciting platforms that I will deal with in a separate article.
To ensure that the avatar also moves in the virtual or filmed world, one’s own pace on the treadmill must of course be transmitted. Here, too, the Technogym MyRun can be easily integrated via Bluetooth – and not just limited to the apps mentioned. By using a standard Bluetooth profile, the treadmill can be used with any app that supports this standard. And this should be true for all those in question… ;)
Use
It feels like we’re already at kilometre 36 of a marathon. That means: now it’s getting really interesting. You certainly think twice about getting a treadmill. And what happens when it’s there? Will it be used? For me, it looked like this:
Design and Technology
My interest in the Technogym MyRun was of course aroused by the good design. I really like the minimal display with three clear, intuitive switches. And not only me: my family was also immediately enthusiastic about the treadmill and has used it from day one.
While for the children the tablet screen was the more exciting part, my wife is happy about the simple operation without an additional display. So she can spontaneously jump on the belt at any time without worrying about complicated technology. Some days we almost need a schedule. ;)
My big eye-opening moment during use was the realisation that the MyRun can be integrated as a Bluetooth running sensor. This was not clear to me beforehand, but it is an extremely important feature for the long-term usability of the device. You probably don’t buy a treadmill that often in your life. Technogym has therefore very cleverly chosen a very widely supported connection standard. So I am very sure that I will still be able to connect the MyRun to my running watch or tablet in five years.
However, technology sometimes has its pitfalls… Once several tablets, mobile phones and running watches have been connected to the Technogym MyRun, the start of the training session might be delayed because the treadmill has connected to the wrong device. It takes a while to come up with that… However, this is less the fault of the treadmill than of my test environment. ;)
Speaking of tests: of course I also wanted to know whether the Technogym MyRun displays the correct speed and therefore did the calibration test from fellrnr.com. This can even be used to determine the different speeds of the belt with and without load from the runner or between the stance and flight phases.
The result: unloaded, the belt runs minimally faster (4:50 min/km instead of 5:00 min/km). As soon as one foot is on the treadmill, however, the speed is reduced very precisely to the set value (in my test to 4:59 min/km). The Stryd shows me a speed of 5:04 min/km – and could still be calibrated. I can live with that very well. :)
Running Experience
Of course I knew that I would not be doing every run on the treadmill, even during the test phase. I have been working at home for a year now and am grateful for every step out of the door – especially in good weather. But you shouldn’t underestimate the treadmill either: it is a legitimate, additional training option.
On the Technogym MyRun, for example, I find it very easy to run at a slow pace. A run like this is in my training schedule twice a week and I always run it a bit too fast outside. On the treadmill, I have no problem with slowing down and maintaining the speed.
Of course, this is also due to the entertainment factor provided by Zwift, Technogym LIVE, podcasts, Netflix, Spotify and Youtube. I can’t choose anything that I really have to concentrate on. But I totally forget about the time thanks to the entertainment.
When it is already dark outside and it might even still be raining, the treadmill in the basement is very tempting. The pollen season is another argument and then there are evenings when the kids are already in bed and my wife is out. Even though I really prefer to run outside, once you have a cool treadmill like the MyRun in the house, there are far more opportunities to use it than you could have imagined before.
I was also not prepared for the sessions in the Technogym LIVE app to be so much fun. At first I dismissed them as “just any cardio workouts”. Then I got stuck into them several times while trying them out and ended up using them as a fun workout on the treadmill. The workouts offer a lot of variety and can also be an additional motivator.
For me, the incline is also an interesting factor. Of course, the Münsterland is not completely flat, but you can’t run long climbs here. When preparing for competitions, it can always be very helpful to simulate the course profile using the possibilities of the Technogym MyRun.
Conclusion
This includes above all the good quality and future-proofing through the smart technology. I also give it top marks for design and operation.
At this price, the Technogym MyRun is certainly not an impulse buy. However, if you (like me) prefer to spend a little more money to get a really good product that you can enjoy for a long time, the Technogym MyRun is the right choice for you.
Just contact me if you are interested in buying a Technogym MyRun. I will be happy to answer any further questions and can arrange a direct contact.
