Muscular growth occurs in response to a greater demand placed upon the muscle through an external stimuli. This can be achieved through resistance training such as working out with weights or cardiovascular activity. Varying your treadmill workout by increasing your speed or running up an incline can promote muscular growth in your legs.
Consult a physician before starting an exercise program.
Intensity and Duration
Low-intensity exercise performed for a longer duration tends to preserve or burn muscle when exercising on a treadmill. Aerobic activity recruits slow-twitch muscle fibers, which primarily increase endurance. Engaging in high-intensity workouts over a shorter duration fires fast-twitch fibers, which increase muscle strength and size. Keep your treadmill workouts under 20 minutes and engage in interval training, walking for one minute and sprinting for 20 to 30 seconds, to build leg muscles.
Angle
Running uphill places more tension on your legs, requiring more muscle activation than running on a level surface. Hill running moves your legs through a wider range of motion and you lift more bodyweight with each step taken on an inline, creating greater resistance, which promotes muscular strength and growth. Setting your treadmill incline to a higher angle also activates core stabilizing muscles in your trunk.
Beginner Incline Program
Gradually increase the incline level on your treadmill to strengthen your muscles and tendons that support your hips, knees and ankles. Keep your treadmill speed constant and maintain the pace during the workout. Running Planet online suggests a 10- to 15-minutes warm-up at 1 percent incline. Increase the incline 1 percent for the following three five-minute intervals. Reduce incline 2 percent for five minutes of running, increase by five percent for another five minutes of running. Decrease the incline by 2 percent for a five-minute run and finally cool down with five minutes of running at a 1 percent incline.
Resistance Training
Consider adding a weight-training regimen to increase muscle mass in your legs. Squats, hack squats and stiff-legged dead lifts are compound movements that add mass to your legs. Perform three sets of eight repetitions for each movement. Strength training also increases bone density, which helps prevent osteoporosis.
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