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* You will need to have a good Treadmill with a strong motor, as you'll be putting a lot of stress on it. The Pro 2000 has survived many long descent runs, but I weigh less than 140 pounds/70 Kg.
* I removed the cover from the motor of my Treadmill to improve cooling as the descents will stress the motor and control board. (You'll probably violate the warranty on your treadmill by propping up the back.)
* I've found that descent angle makes a bigger impact than you'd expect and the difficulty is non-linear. For instance, I've found that going from -12 to -14 degrees produces a radical increase in difficulty.
* A Treadmill Descent is quite easy aerobically, with a lower Heart Rate due to the decreased energy use. This can make it tricky to judge the difficulty, as the perceived effort can be quite low until the muscle damage is significant.
* Start off with a gentle descent and shorter distances. The Treadmill Descent may seem easy at the time, but the soreness will appear a day or too later. I'd start off with -2 to -4 degrees and 3-5 miles, then build up from there.
* Perform a Treadmill Descent every 1-2 weeks depending on your recovery time.
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