Stuck inside all winter? If you’re not bold enough to try one of our outdoor winter workouts, but you’re oh-so-bored with your indoor treadmill routine, we’ve got just the thing.
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Pick and chose from these 5 tough treadmill workouts to keep your indoor training exciting. Additionally, all of these workouts incorporate intervals to burn fat and torch calories in less time.
As with any rigorous workout, sufficient warm-up time is key for avoiding muscle injury. Give yourself five to 10 minutes to jog lightly, awaken those legs and prepare your body for the workout at hand.
1. Progression Run
For your first treadmill workout: begin at a mere 5 mph, and add another .2 mph at the passing of every minute until you’ve completely fatigues.
“This workout will systematically and incrementally increase an athlete’s lactate threshold,” says Andrew Kastor, head coach for Mammoth Track Club in Mammoth, California. “It will also develop mental patience and boost VO2 Max.”
2. Half-Mile Intervals
This treadmill interval workout calls for an even greater, extended warm-up phase — shoot for 15 to 20 minutes at an easygoing pace. Really ease into it, allow for your legs to gain length in strides as your body loosens and falls into a natural rhythm that’s somewhere between serenity and slightly felt fatigue.
The gruelling part of the workout, after the warm-up, goes something like this: Run ½ a mile at 70 per cent of your maximum effort, then 200 metres at your max cool down pace. Proceed with the same pattern 6 to 8 times.
3. Alternate Inclines
Pick your target mile pace, and set the speed slightly slower to ease into it. Then, alternate the incline every minute. A good pattern: 5.0, 7.0, 10.0, and back down to 5.0 by the end.
Increase your speed throughout the workout so that you hit your target mile pace. The goal: the final, low-incline minute will feel super speedy. Repeat this once.
4. Sideways Hill Shuffles
Back as a collegiate athlete, I’d often turn to backward hills/straddle runs to challenge myself. There’s something about backpedaling or shuffling up a hill that fortifies your mental strength in the face of an impossibly steep hill (plus, the variety is refreshing). Set the treadmill incline somewhere between 5.0 and 8.0 (advanced runners can aim for 10). Then, stand sideways on the treadmill and hold onto the bar. Set the speed slow (between 2.5 and 4.5 is a good starting point for newbies) and do a side shuffle for 30 seconds. Flip over to the other side of the treadmill for another 30 seconds; you’ll probably notice that the move feels more natural on one side. Stand backward and stay closer to the front of the machine than you normally would — your butt should almost touch the bar. Run backward for 30 seconds (it’s harder than it looks!). Then, turn forward and jog it out for another 30 seconds. Change the incline to 0 and sprint for 30 seconds. Repeat. You may look a bit silly, but it works.
5. Endless Hill Workout
Warm up with 10 minutes of a light, jogging pace. Then begin the workout at an 8 per cent incline (or 6 to 7 per cent for beginners) and sprint full-out for 30 seconds. Drop the incline down to 4 to 5 per cent, and walk for 30 seconds. Then spritn for 90 seconds at your established 10K pace. Then walk fro two minutes. Round 1 completed! Repeat six to nine times for a truly tough workout that will leave you feeling spent.