It’s hard not to hate the treadmill. It can be incredibly boring to run at the same speed for 30 minutes straight! To switch things up, why not try interval training – short bursts of high intensity followed by slower recovery periods. Interval training can make your workouts a lot more fun, not to mention the many health benefits including increasing anaerobic endurance, building fast-twitch muscle fibers, and increasing V02 max. Plus, it is a great way to reduce impact while still getting in a great workout. Here are a few treadmill workouts to try, even if you hate running.
Interval Workout for Speed
Courtesy Men’s Journal; Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Warmup: 3 minutes of drills such as high knees, leg swings, or butt kicks. Then run on a 1% incline for 5 minutes.
- Four runs at 2 minutes each, followed by a 1-minute walk or jog. After the fourth, take a 3-minute recovery walk.
- Four runs at 2 minutes each, followed by a 30-second walk or jog. After the fourth, take a 3-minute recovery walk.
- Four sprints at 40 seconds each, followed by a 40-second walk or jog.
- Cooldown: 3-minute jog.
30-Second Sprint Intervals
Courtesy Verywell Fit; Total Time: 30 Minutes
- Set the treadmill at a 1% incline. Walk for 1 minute.
- Begin an easy jog for 5 minutes.
- Sprint for 30 seconds, then recover with 90 seconds of easy jogging.
- Repeat these sprint/recovery intervals nine more times for a total of 18 minutes.
- Finish with a 4-minute walking cooldown.
“Get Focused” Workout
Courtesy Self; Total Time: 19 minutes
- 5-minute walking warmup between 2.5 and 3.5 mph.
- 1-minute strider: Not a jog, not a sprint, but somewhere in between (4.0-7.0 mph with elongated strides).
- 3-minute walk (3.0-3.5 mph) at 5% incline.
- 1-minute strider (4.0-7.0 mph) at 5% incline.
- 3-minute walk (3.0-3.5 mph) at 8% incline.
- 1-minute strider (4.0-7.0 mph) at 8% incline.
- 5-minute cooldown (3.0-3.5 mph) at 1% incline.
3-2-1 Speed Session
Courtesy Runner’s World; Total Time: 34 Minutes
- 5-minute warmup.
- 3 minutes fast followed by 3-minute recovery.
- 2 minutes fast followed by 2-minute recovery.
- 1 minute fast followed by 1-minute recovery.
- 3 minutes fast followed by 3-minute recovery.
- 2 minutes fast followed by 2-minute recovery.
- 1 minute fast followed by 1-minute recovery.
- 5-minute cooldown
Sidewinder Workout
Courtesy Treadmill Review Guru; Total Time: 24 Minutes
- 5-minute warmup (gradually increase speed from 2.4-3.5 mph).
- 2 minutes sideways at 2.2 mph (1 minute facing right, 1 minute facing left)
- 2 minutes sideways at 2.4 mph (1 minute right, 1 minute left)
- 1 minute forward at 4.5 mph
- 1 minute forward at 3.5 mph
- 2 minutes sideways walking at 2.6 (1 minute right, 1 minute left)
- 2 minutes sideways at 2.8 mph (1 minute right, 1 minute left)
- 1 minute forward at 4.2 mph
- 1 minute forward at 3.5 mph
- 2 minutes sideways at 2.8 (1 minute right, 1 minute left)
- 5-minute cooldown (gradually decrease speed from 3.0 to 2.0 mph)
Ready to Start Running?
Just remember: Any workout is always hard at first, but it does get easier. So our best advice is to just stick with it! What do you have to lose?