Treadmill workouts don’t always have to be the same old routine. Try the routines described below; they are guaranteed to help you blast away your excess fat much more quickly!
Compensated Sprints
Sprinting is one of the best forms of exercise in terms of improving strength, speed, endurance, and physical performance. They are notoriously difficult as you are expected to run or cycle at 100% of your maximal ability.
Sprint workouts on a treadmill are kind of like a neutered version of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), although it’s an acceptable substitute if a proper sprint workout is out of the question.
However, if a treadmill is the only way sprints will get done, there are some compensations that can or should be made:
- Instead of maximal speed, try cutting it back 20 or 30% so you can put the necessary focus on balance.
- Since you’re slowing down a bit, try running just as far by going for a little bit longer.
- Reduce rest time.
Interval Sprints
Sprint workouts don’t have to be super complicated to be effective. Sometimes the simplest workout can have the biggest effects. Make sure you challenge yourself during the interval, and go slow enough to recover between sets so you can push it again each round.
On a treadmill, warm-up either walking or jogging for 5-10 minutes (make sure your muscles are adequately warm before sprinting or you may risk injury), then do 8 intervals sprinting for 30 seconds and recovering for 1:30 minutes. To increase the challenge, you can sprint for a longer period of time, decrease the recovery time, or sprint faster during the interval. Don’t change all the factors at once. Only change one factor at a time.
Hill Sprints
Most people can sustain a solid running pace for about 2:00 minutes that would be significantly greater than their normal run pace. Depending on fitness level, a walking recover can be anywhere between 30 seconds to a couple minutes.
If you are looking for something that is a little more intense, try using a bike or rower for more intense intervals. You can push yourself much harder without worrying about the risk of faceplanting on a treadmill. My favourite bike intervals are 30 seconds work (high resistance, as fast as humanly possible) to 60 seconds rest (low-no resistance, just keep it moving) for 10-15 intervals. If you do it right, you should bring a friend to peel you off the floor.
These exercises will totally rejuvenate your workout routine. Be sure to try them the next time you’re on a treadmill.
image couresy: tone-and-tighten.com, Bodybuilding.com.
