Healthy adults require at least 30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise to attain cardiovascular health, according to guidelines established by the American Heart Association. Jogging on the treadmill meets this requirement. However, doing the same treadmill workout daily makes your body overly efficient, resulting in your burning less calories. Change aspects of your treadmill jogging exercise regimen to maximize its cardiovascular benefits, build your endurance and strengthen major muscle groups.
Incline Workouts
Setting your treadmill at a grade while jogging intensifies the cardiovascular component of your workout. Jogging up an incline also makes you run a strengthening workout. The higher you set the grade, the more you work your gluteal, thigh and calf muscles. Do strengthening intervals by programming your treadmill for various grades, including steep climbs, or manually change the level of the grade to include a slight incline for five minutes and a steep climb for one minute.
Treadmill and Strength Training Circuit
Bob Greene, Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer, developed a treadmill workout that you combine with strength training off the treadmill. Each step of the circuit lasts five minutes, though you can lengthen the treadmill segments if you want more aerobic exercise and less strength-training. Begin with a 20-minute mile as an incline setting of 12. Exit the treadmill and do a rapid series of resistance exercises such as pushups, abdominal crunches, deep squats, biceps curls and triceps dips. Return to the treadmill and jog an 18-minute mile at an incline setting of 10. Exit the treadmill for another series of resistance exercises. Return to the treadmill and run a 15-minute mile at an incline setting of 8. Follow with more strengthening work. Finish with a 12-minute mile at an incline setting of 4.
Speed Intervals
Dramatically elevate your heart rate during your treadmill workout by doing speed intervals. Changing your pace while jogging burns calories and builds endurance. Warm up by walking on the treadmill for five minutes. Jog slowly for another five minutes, gradually speeding up. For the next five minutes, jog at a rate that challenges you but that you can sustain. Then, break into a sprint that lasts up to one minute. Spend the next 30 seconds to one minute recovering with a slow jog or brisk walk. Repeat this series during your entire treadmill workout.
Lactate Threshold Workout
Advanced runners can push themselves harder with a treadmill workout that gradually builds in intensity. This five-step workout consists of separate four-minute intervals. Warm up for five minutes and then do an easy jog for the first interval. Split the second interval between jogging at a rate of one additional mile per hour than your easy jog and a slow jog to recover. Split the third interval in a similar fashion, adding another mile per hour to your speed and then returning to your easy jog for recovery. Follow this pattern for your fourth and fifth intervals, increasing your speed each time.
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