Easy Tips To Spruce Up Your Treadmill Workouts |
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 August 20, 2008 |
by Torri Tompson
Boredom is one of the main killers of exercise programs. If you feel your treadmill workouts are becoming boring, mix it up a bit. There are a lot of things you can do to make your treadmill workouts interesting and enjoyable. Here are a few ideas:
Movies, Music, CDs and TV. Use your treadmill workouts as a time when you catch up on your favorite TV programs, the newest movie releases, audio books and motivational CDs. If you have music in your bones, workout to your favorite music and your workout times will go by fast. Don’t be afraid to sing along and entertain the kids and pets. They’ll get a kick out of it!
Pyramid Walking. Increase your walking pace by .1 mph every minute for 15 minutes. Then, slow your walking pace by .1 mph every minute for 15 minutes. This is an awesome mental challenge.
Walking for Dancers. If you have good coordination and love to dance, you can use your treadmill workouts as a time to increase your balance and strength. All you have to do is walk backwards at an even pace for a portion of your treadmill workouts.
Numbers. To keep your mind busy during a workout, count your steps for one minute. Take a break the following minute, and then count your steps the next minute. Not only will this help you see when you need to pick up your pace, but over time you can see how your foot speed increases.
Circuit Training. Treadmill workouts can benefit greatly by adding circuit training into the mix. Those of you who are interested in strength training can do lunges, crunches, free weights or some other strength building exercise for one minute after every five minutes of walking.
Stretching. Most everyone loves stretching. A very enjoyable thing to incorporate into treadmill workouts is stretching. Walk 10 minutes, get off your machine and do stretching exercises for five minutes. Repeat this until your workout time is over.
Climb and Walk. Someone who wants to take it to the next level can put a stepper next to their treadmill and take turns stepping for five minutes and walking for five minutes.
Walk To a Destination. Many people love finding out how many miles it is to a favorite destination or relatives home and seeing how long it takes them to walk there on their treadmills. Chart your results and see how far it takes you to walk where you want to go.
Heart Rate Training. Use a heart rate monitor during your treadmill workouts and cycle in and out of different heart rate zones for two minute intervals. Heart Rate Training workouts should last no longer than 20 or 30 minutes and should only be done 2 or 3 times per week.
These are just some ideas to make your treadmill workouts more fun and interesting. The possibilities of what you can do are endless. Try new things and see what works for you. Keeping boredom at bay will keep your fitness goals on track and make your treadmill workouts fly by.
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