An infrared treadmill and a regular treadmill both make you walk. The real difference is what surrounds that walk. A regular treadmill sits in a room at normal temperature. An infrared treadmill puts your lower body inside a heated chamber and adds near-infrared light while you walk. That is the actual difference between an infrared treadmill vs a regular treadmill: the same walking pace ends up feeling warmer, sweatier, and more demanding in the infrared version.
If you enjoy running and your knees are fine, a normal treadmill is perfectly good. Infrared tends to appeal to people who want low-impact movement or who find a standard walk does not feel like enough on its own.
Why People Try Infrared In The First Place
Before we get into the details, it helps to know why this question even comes up. Most people are not bored with their gym treadmill for no reason. They usually come here for one of a few simple reasons:
- Their knees or hips are not loving high-impact workouts anymore
- A regular walk feels too easy to be worth the time
- They want their heart rate up without pounding on their joints
- They are curious whether heat and light actually add anything real
- They saw it somewhere local and want an honest answer before trying it
If any of those sound familiar, you are exactly who this post is for. Let’s walk through it properly.
Infrared Treadmill vs a Regular Treadmill: A Side-by-Side Comparison
If you only have a minute, here is the quick comparison. We will unpack every row right after this.
Infrared Treadmill | Regular Treadmill | |
Intensity at walking pace | Feels more demanding | Feels like a standard walk |
Impact on joints | Low impact, walking pace by design | Depends on speed and incline |
Sweat | Noticeably higher | Depends mostly on effort |
Session length | Usually around 30 minutes | Varies, often longer |
What it asks of your fitness | Very little; walking pace is the point | Scales with your chosen speed |
Where you can use it | Studios with infrared equipment | Nearly any gym or home |
Found a clear winner for you?
Book Your First SessionWhat The Heat Actually Changes
Here is the simplest way to think about it. Your body always works to keep its core temperature steady, no matter what you are doing. Put that same easy walking pace inside a warm, enclosed chamber, and your body suddenly has more work to do just to stay cool, even though your legs are doing the same motion they would on any treadmill.
Cleveland Clinic explains that heat adds real stress to your cardiovascular system, since your body has to send extra blood flow toward your skin to release warmth, on top of whatever your muscles already need during activity. That is a big part of why a slow walk in a heated chamber can leave you sweating as you pushed much harder than you actually did.
Many people find this extra demand satisfying rather than draining, and it tends to make gentle movement feel like it actually counts for something. We will not tell you it burns a specific number of extra calories, because that depends on far too many individual factors to state as fact. What we can say honestly is that the heat changes the experience itself, not just a number on a screen.
If you want to see how this pairs with movement in more depth, our piece on heat therapy with movement goes further into that combination.
What The Near Infrared Light Adds
Now for the light part, since infrared gets used loosely online, it is worth being precise here.
The light used in an infrared treadmill is near infrared, and that is genuinely different from two other things we offer. It is not the same as our POLY red light service, which uses visible red light with no heat chamber involved. It is also not the same as our far-infrared wellness pods, where you lie still while the heat does the work instead of walking. Near-infrared, movement, and a warm chamber – that combination is specifically what an infrared treadmill is.
A 2026 narrative review on red and near-infrared light in athletes found associations with improved recovery markers across several trials, though the researchers were clear that results vary quite a bit depending on dose, wavelength, and the individual. That kind of honesty matters more to us than a bold claim would.
For the full picture on how near, mid, and far infrared differ, our guide on infrared wavelengths breaks it down further, and our overview of what infrared actually is covers the basics if any of this is new to you.
Curious what the light actually feels like?
Book Your First SessionLow Impact, The Part That Matters Most For A Lot Of People
Out of everything we have covered so far, this is the argument that actually convinces most people, so it deserves a bit more room.
Walking pace means no pounding on your joints, step after step. Cleveland Clinic makes a point worth repeating here: low impact does not mean easy; it just means your joints are not absorbing repeated shock with every stride.
That distinction matters a lot if your knees are sore, if you are easing back into movement after time off, if you are a bit older and want to protect your joints, or if you are carrying extra weight and want your heart rate up without extra strain.
An infrared treadmill takes that same low-impact idea and adds heat and light on top of it, so the walking itself stays gentle while the overall experience still asks something real of your body. For a lot of people, that combination lands in a sweet spot that neither a hard workout nor a fully passive session quite reaches.
Our piece on infrared wellness through movement and mobility goes deeper into this specific angle, if it is the part that resonates most with you.
A Quick Gut Check
Still not sure which side of this you land on? Ask yourself a few honest questions.
- Do your joints ache after high-impact workouts? Infrared is worth trying.
- Are you training for a race or a specific pace goal? Stick with your regular treadmill.
- Do you like the idea of sweating more without moving faster? Infrared fits that.
- Do you prefer working out at home before anyone else is awake? A regular treadmill wins here.
- Does heat make you anxious rather than relaxed? There is no need to force it, a regular treadmill will treat you just fine.
There is no wrong answer here, just an honest one.
When A Regular Treadmill Is The Better Choice
We would rather tell you this straight than pretend infrared is the answer for everyone.
If you want to run, a regular treadmill is simply the right tool. If you are training for distance or speed, the enclosed chamber will get in your way rather than help. If you like working out at home at five in the morning before the rest of the house wakes up, a regular treadmill fits that life better than a studio visit ever will. And if heat genuinely makes you uncomfortable rather than energized, there is no reason to force it. A normal treadmill will serve you perfectly well in every one of these situations.
Not sure which one actually fits you?
The Two Infrared Treadmills At Body Lab
If you have decided infrared is worth trying, good news, we actually have two different machines, and they are not identical.
VacuTherm Treadmill
The VacuTherm pairs a lower body vacuum chamber with near infrared heat. The gentle vacuum pressure draws blood flow toward the legs and glutes while you walk, adding a circulation-focused layer on top of the heat itself. It’s one of two treadmill options under our infrared fitness sessions, and it’s often the pick for anyone who wants extra circulation support built right into the walk.
Infrared Power Treadmill
This one skips the vacuum chamber and keeps things simpler, infrared heat plus a standard treadmill walk. It suits people who want the warmth and the sweat without the added vacuum sensation, or anyone easing into infrared fitness for the first time.
Check out our infrared fitness sessions page to learn more.
How To Decide Between an Infrared Treadmill and a Regular Treadmill
Bringing it all together, here is the simplest way to choose:
- If your joints ache with impact, try infrared
- If you want to train for speed or distance, stick with a regular treadmill
- If you already love your home treadmill, keep it; infrared can simply be an occasional addition rather than a swap
- If you are brand new to any of this, start small and let curiosity lead
If you are new to Body Lab entirely, our guide on where to start can help you find your first session. And if you want the full walkthrough of what a first session actually feels like, we covered that start to finish in your first infrared treadmill session.
Whichever One You Choose, Just Keep Moving
Honestly, the machine matters less than showing up. Whether that means lacing up for a regular run tonight or trying a warm, low-impact walk in one of our chambers, either one counts. If the heat and light sound like something worth trying, we would love to have you in for a session and answer anything else on your mind.
Come in, ask our team anything from this page in person, and see which treadmill actually makes sense for you.
See Infrared Fitness SessionsFrequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an infrared treadmill and a regular treadmill?
The walking is the same. An infrared treadmill adds a warm enclosed chamber around the lower body plus near-infrared light, so a walking pace feels more demanding than it would on an ordinary machine.
Is an infrared treadmill better than a normal treadmill?
It is better and different. Infrared suits people who want low-impact movement. However, a regular treadmill is a good choice if you want to run or train for distance.
Do you sweat more on an infrared treadmill?
Most people do, noticeably. The warm chamber means your body works harder to regulate temperature at the same walking pace.
Is an infrared treadmill good for bad knees?
It is low impact and done at walking pace, which many people with joint discomfort find manageable. If you have a knee problem, check with your doctor or physiotherapist first.
Is an infrared treadmill the same as an infrared sauna?
No. A sauna is passive heat with no movement. An infrared treadmill combines walking with near-infrared light inside a warm chamber.
Where can I try an infrared treadmill in Myrtle Beach?
At Body Lab Studio, we offer both VacuTherm and Infrared Power Treadmill sessions as individual, single-session options.
References
- Cleveland Clinic. How the Heat Can Affect Your Heart. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-the-heat-can-affect-your-heart
- Cleveland Clinic. What Qualifies as Low Impact Cardio. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/low-impact-cardio
- Photobiomodulation, Red and Near Infrared Light Therapy for Mitochondrial Stimulation and Biological Recovery in Athletes, A Narrative Review, Quality in Sport, 2026. https://apcz.umk.pl/QS/article/view/73741
