The treadmill can be a steady way to stay trim and fit. If you're following the same old treadmill routine day after day, it can also be a steady path to boredom. You don't need to ditch your treadmill altogether. You just need to find a routine, or series of routines, that keep you occupied, motivated and moving right along.
Go with What You Got
Treadmills generally come with a host of programs already set in their computers. A new workout can be yours with the simple push of a button before you begin. Options often include speed interval walker, jogger or training, mountain or rolling hills, heart rate programs for cardio or weight loss, and incline workouts labeled fat burn. Many treadmills come with at least six pre-programmed options, in addition to the manual settings and settings for saving your own personal workouts into memory.
Interval Training
An easy way to add some variety to your treadmill workout is with interval training, ACE Fitness notes. Interval training consists of intervals of increased intensity -- either by increasing the speed or the incline level -- in bursts throughout your workout. Start off with your usual pace and, whenever you feel bored, up the speed by a few notches for a couple minutes, then resume your usual speed. Do the same with inclines, starting at your usual incline level, increasing it for a few minutes, and then back to your usual incline. The short bursts of activity add variety and mix up the calorie and fat burning.
Three Month Plan
Shaping your routine into a larger goal with a three month plan is another way to stave off your treadmill boredom, Fitness reports. Start by picking a different routine for each day of the week as you go along. Perhaps you want manual jogging on Mondays, interval training on Tuesdays, mountains and hills on Wednesdays. Once your plan is in place, write it down and keep a workout journal so you can gauge your progress and the results. At the end of the three months, gauge what you enjoyed and what worked and what didn't. Adjust your plan accordingly, or leave it if you like it, and repeat the process for another three months. The plan could go on indefinitely.
Jazz It Up
Working your arms or mind as hard as you're working your lower body is another option for jazzing up a mundane treadmill routine. Adding arm movements, either alone or using small dumbbells, increases variety while toning your upper body, Fitness reports. If you're into gadgets, ACE Fitness suggests adding a pedometer, a music device or a heart rate monitor to your routine. Mind games can also keep you occupied as well as motivated, Running Planet adds. Suggestions include picking a destination such as Paris, France, and setting up a wall map with stick pins that gauges the miles from your current destination to your dream one. Log the mileage of each day's workout along your route until you finally reach your goal. If TV keeps your mind occupied, watch it while you're on the treadmill -- run or walk your usual pace during your favorite show but up the speed, incline, or both, during commercials. Resume your usual pace and incline once your show comes back on. It's interval training with a twist.
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