5 Treadmill Tips to Spice Up Your Running Routine

Spice up your routine.

In many ways, the treadmill can be an invaluable tool for the obsessive runner – not only can you avoid running when it’s excessively cold, rainy, or hot outdoors, but you can have a tight control over the speed and resistance through which you run. But for many people, the treadmill can be the scourge of their running routine, making them feel bored and complacent. How exactly can you spice up your treadmill routine and keep that winning edge? Here are five tips for doing just that.

Tip #1: Challenge yourself. It sounds counter-intuitive, but sometimes the way to make the treadmill more attractive is to actually make it harder. If you’re running at a gym and watching a TV program, try increasing your speed during the commercials. If you have a thirty-minute running routine, try doing a sprint for one minute every five minutes. Make sure you’re pushing your boundaries in a healthy way – you want to feel good about your session when it’s done. And to feel good, you’re going to have to feel like you’ve accomplished something different.

Tip #2: Add weights. No, you don’t want to be doing bench presses from the relative instability of a machine that’s constantly moving, but you do want to make things interesting. So grab a couple of five or ten-pound weights and get moving. This is also a great way to make sure that your workout keeps its intensity, as well as work your upper body while engaging in a predominantly lower-body workout. Add a few punches with your strides and eventually you might find it takes a little more weight to challenge you.

Tip #3: Set weekly training goals. Sometimes, your long-term goal isn’t enough to keep you motivated. If you want to put your treadmill to the fullest use, try setting small mini-goals that keep you feeling like you have something to fight for – this very week. If that’s still too much, start with even smaller daily goals.

Tip #4: Take full advantage of hiking programs. Some treadmills come with pre-programmed hiking programs that simulate walking up and down hills like you’re out there in nature. If you have one of these, try it out! The varying speeds and inclines will keep you on your toes. If your treadmill doesn’t have one of these, try making your own up.

Tip #5: Break up your treadmill workouts into segments. If all else fails, try breaking up a tough treadmill day into different segments – for instance, a half-hour treadmill run can be turned into three ten-minute jaunts. You can even try to increase the energy of each of these jaunts for an added challenge.

Photo Credits: lu_lu

Originally posted 2009-06-04 10:28:05.

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