Spice Up Your Treadmill Workout

Treadmills have been around forever and are the cornerstone of fitness centers everywhere.  They can be found in every gym and were one of the first pieces of major equipment to be sold for home use.  For the past ten years or so, they have been surpassed by elliptical machines, steppers and combination units.  Using the treadmill seems “old school” now.  I’m here to change that perception.

Learning to work the incline and speed settings on the treadmill adds variety, feedback and improved performance.  Although nothing beats the great outdoors for challenges of wind resistance, terrain changes and site seeing, the treadmill can be used as an additional training tool. It can enhance your training or get you ready for the outdoors if you are, like me, a fair weather runner. The treadmill can be used in the winter months and then you can head outside when the weather turns nice.  I get more out of those outside runs because I have trained all winter and can go for a good long run on that first nice spring day.

If you are a beginner, the treadmill is a great place to start and track your progress.  Once you learn the easy operation of most machines, you can start at a nice pace on a level surface and walk for a certain distance or for a certain time.  Whether you want to progress by walking longer or faster, you can easily track your time and speed.  For those who are extra busy, why not increase your speed over the same period of time to get more out of the short time you might have to workout?

For those who are already runners, or training for a race, the treadmill can be a great addition to your routine.  The treadmill allows you to add a series of hills, even though you live in the ‘flats’, or to challenge your pace for short periods of time for speed workouts.  Interval training is all the buzz and the treadmill is the perfect vehicle for this type of workout.  Change it up!  Mix speed and hills into one workout.  Take the incline up progressively at a steady speed and then back down.  After a recovery lap, keep the elevation at one percent, but increase the speed by a few tenths each minute for five minutes and then back down.  You’ll be surprised how fast the time goes and takes out the boredom factor!

One golden rule to keep in mind for everybody is to avoid the temptation of holding on to the rails – that defeats the whole purpose!  Start at a pace where you feel comfortable walking with normal strides and with your arms swinging by your side.  Be sure you are comfortable here and then gradually increase speed or incline.  If you feel the need to hang on, try to resist it for a short duration or slow down until you are comfortable.  Of course, the rails are always there should you need to regain balance or get distracted.

So, the next time you go to the gym, go retro and try the treadmill.  You just might find it spruces up your workout and you learn to love it…again.

Written by Amy Krzyzaniak, PT, CSCS, Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan