Dull the Monotony Of The Treadmill With These Two Workouts
If you're in the northeast you probably woke up to about 6 inches of snow this morning, which brings up the question, do I try and run outside or do I slog it out on the treadmill. I thought it would be appropriate to share two treadmill workouts that help dull the monotony while giving you a great workout. First a couple of facts about treadmill running, treadmill running is in fact easier then running outside primarily because of two reasons: 1) You don't have to overcome wind resistance. 2) The ground runs out from underneath you resulting in less force needed to push against the ground to propel yourself forward. While there are things you can do to more closely mimic outside running (i.e. always run at a 1% incline) the biomechanics will never be the same. Hill repeats are my favorite type of workout to do on a treadmill. There are two types of hill workouts you can do: short and long. Short fast hill repeats for speed and power: - 10 to 15 minute warm up gradually increasing pace - At fast pace run 1 minute @ 8% grade then 1 minute @ 1% grade - Repeat 6 - 10 times - 5 to 15 minute cool down gradually reducing pace Long hill repeats for fatigue resistance and sustained strength: - 10 to 15 minute warm up gradually increasing pace - At medium fast pace run 3 minutes @ 4% then 2 minutes @ 1% grade - Repeat 3 - 5 times - 5 to 15 minute cool down gradually decreasing pace Paces will vary based on your fitness level so I always recommend it best to be conservative at first and increase pace if more of a challenge is needed. Doing one of these workouts will not only give you a killer workout but should also make the time go by a little quicker.