Treadmill Workouts to Add Variety, Kick Boredom
Treadmills can be a godsend when there’s snow and ice, or when you don’t have time to run or walk during daylight hours, or just don’t have a safe, suitable place to do so. But, they can also bore you to tears and sabotage your workouts. Here are three great ways to add some variety and stave off boredom.
Interval Training
There are several great things about interval training, both from a fitness standpoint and in terms of staying entertained. Interval training is when you alternate between brief bursts of increased intensity and longer periods of recovery, or less intensity. On the treadmill, you can do this either by increasing your speed, or by increasing the incline, to make your activity more or less challenging. Try alternating between the two, either within a workout or between workouts.
This not only gives you a better cardiovascular workout and a better calorie burn, but also gives you something else to focus on besides just putting one foot in front of the other. One of my favorite ways to do intervals on the treadmill? I pick up the pace during commercials, either on the radio or on television. This is great, unless you don’t have access to either at your treadmill or you’re listening to public radio. Another alternative is to watch the clock; you might want to jog easy for four minutes, and speed up for one. Or, just play it by ear. When you feel ready to really hit it, go for it, and dial it down when you need to. Above all, really the only rule here is to tailor your intervals to your level of fitness. Make your intense intervals challenging for you, not what you think you should be able to do.
Fun With MP3 Players
Podcasts are one of the best tools out there to add variety & entertainment to your tread mill workouts. If you go to the iTunes Store, click on Podcasts, and search for running, the options abound. For example, Running Mate is a free podcast that guides you through various intervals set to upbeat music. Podrunner is great for this as well, and is also free.
Or, perhaps you’d simply like to add some learning to your time on the treadmill? The podcasts from How Stuff Works, such as Stuff You Should Know and Stuff You Missed In History Class, are fantastic. There …