Treadmill workouts allow runners to manipulate grade and speed, providing more variability and precision than running on a road or track. Varying treadmill workouts will challenge your body for greater fitness gains, and will stave off boredom with your training routine.
Step 1
Simulate running hills by raising the incline. According to a study printed in The Journal of Physiology, researchers at the University of Georgia found that uphill running activates 9 percent more muscle each stride compared with exercising at the same intensity on level ground. Incline running recruits key muscles responsible for increasing forward running speed.
Step 2
Integrate intervals into your training. Intervals are a combination of high-intensity exercise for a set period of time alternated with short periods of low-intensity work. According to Paul Sorace in the December 2009 issue of Strength and Conditioning Journal, caloric expenditure is elevated through post exercise oxygen consumption. That means you are burning calories even after you conclude your workout due to the oxygen debt from the higher intensity work.
Step 3
Add fartlek training into your program to increase strength and stamina. Fartlek, which is Swedish for “speed play,” is a combination of exercises and exertion levels. Although similar to intervals, the runner randomly sets his own interval lengths and pace in response to how he feels in fartlek training. Fartlek is successful because it is tailored to the requirements of an individual based on his needs.
Step 4
Keep track of what you’re doing by keeping a workout log. Differing demands need to be placed on the body from workout to workout. Without increasing duration, intensity, density, there is no form of overload to improve fitness. After one or two sessions of the same intensity or duration, the body will be efficient in performing that activity, so there needs to be differing stimulus each workout to continue improvement. Journaling your workouts will track your progression.
Tips and Warnings
- Don't neglect warming up prior to a workout and cooling down at the conclusion of a session to prevent injuries. Stay hydrated by bringing a water bottle with you to every workout.
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