Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Refresh Your Use Of The Treadmill

If you’re lucky to have some great spring weather now, then you’re probably outdoors running and walking. Unfortunately, here in Iowa, we’ve had our share of wet and cool weather. In fact, I’ve been stuck running in the early morning rain numerous times this spring, including today!

So if that weather isn’t so great, maybe the treadmill is still a good workout alternative for now. Although boring, try some new twists to make it more appealing.

How about a pyramid? Go two to three minutes at a higher pace, with a one-minute recovery pace, then up it a few more times and come back down.

Many treadmills have workout programs, but we seldom use them. Give one a try for a new twist.

What about hills? You can do a pyramid workout at a slower pace with hills.

Here’s another idea – does your health club have a track? If so, I like to mix treadmill and track work. You can do sprints on the track while you recover on the treadmill or work hills on the treadmill with recovery intervals on the track. These types of workouts help when you need to get higher mileage indoors.

If you’re new to the treadmill, checkout this article from the American Institute for Cancer Research that was posted on http://www.sparkpeople.com/ -- http://tinyurl.com/5kutsn.

2 comments:

Mark said...

Coach, good ideas! I think the treadmill is a great training tool.

Christine Luff said...

great tips! I like to mix up running on the treadmill with some strength-training exercises. I'll run for 5 minutes, jump off do some squats, push-ups, and lunges, then jump back on the treadmill for another 5 minutes...and continue the pattern for 30-60 minutes. It's fun and the time passes quickly.