If you’re into working out, I’m sure you’ve heard of interval training. Treadmill interval workouts are a great way to get in shape from the comfort of your home or gym.
What is an interval workout? When you’re doing intervals your split your workouts into a period of rest with a period of hard work. You can use interval training to improve your race time for a 5k or marathon or you can use it to improve your on-field speed for a sport that you like. Many people do interval training because they have limited time for a workout.
Treadmill interval workouts are a good way to burn fat compared to steady state cardio. After a hard interval workout, your metabolism will be higher for up to 24 hours giving you a after burn effect. Lower intensity workouts won’t give you the after burn benefit.
Treadmill interval workouts will save you time, help you to burn more fat and increase your speed while running. I have put together a list of my favorite treadmill interval workouts.
Hills on the Treadmill
My favorite Treadmill interval workout is hills. Using a tread mill you will set the incline from 5-7 degrees and do 8-10 rounds of rest and sprint intervals. When add these into your workout for the first time you want to proceed with some caution. Set your rest pace at 2.5-3.5 mph on the treadmill with the incline set at 5-7 degrees. When you’re in the rest interval you shouldn’t be tired if you feel winded back off the speed. You will start with a rest interval for 2 minutes for a warm up. Now it’s time to move to a work interval. Your work interval should only be 1 minute and if you can do longer than it’s too easy.
Here is an example of my workout.
2:00 min Rest 3.5 mph, 7 incline
1:00 min hard 10 mph, 7 incline
Repeated 8-10 times with a cool down at the end
If you’re a beginner you might have a workout like this.
2:00 min Rest 2.5 mph, 5 incline
1:00 min hard 4.5 mph, 5 incline
Everyone is different and if you’re new to intervals you should start slow. Build up your pace every week a little bit at a time. This isn’t a race and you will see results very quickly.
Real world example of results
One of my clients Sam used this to increase on field speed for his soccer games. After 3 months Sam saw a 5 mph increase in his speed. He also did barbell squats and other leg workouts but the speed work on the treadmill helped him get fast for sure.
¼ mile repeats
Being a distance runner I love doing repeats on the treadmill. This is when you run for a quarter, half or three quarters of mile with rest between workouts. The intervals are a little longer than the hill work. The point of repeats is to make you a faster runner by getting your body used to going a different speed than it’s used to. Doing repeats will improve running economy, VO2 max and mitochondria health.
Here is an example of how I do my repeats.
¼ mile of rest 6 mph, incline 1
¼ mile of sprints 11-12 mph, incline 1
If you’re a beginner you might have a workout like this.
¼ mile of rest 3.5 mph, incline 1
¼ mile of sprints 4-5 mph, incline 1
I tend to repeat this 10-12 times during my workout.
Just like with the hill workouts start slow. If you’re just getting into running you can start with walk run repeats for 2-3 miles per workout.
Work on picking up your speed every week. If you reach the top speed of your treadmill you can add incline to the hard part of your repeats.
800 meter repeats
As I am getting closer to my race I like to add longer repeats to my workout to get my body used to going fast for longer periods without stopping. This workout is almost the same as the ¼ mile repeats but you only get a ¼ mile of rest after the ½ mile repeat.
I will do 8-10 rounds of this during my workout and many times I will walk for .1 miles right after the hard repeat because of how much it raises my heart rate.
Here is an example of how I do my repeats.
¼ mile rest 6 mph, incline 1
½ mile of hard work 10-11mph, incline 1
If you’re a beginner stick to the ¼ mile workout until you feel like you’re ready to jump up.
¾ mile repeats
I will add this workout into my cycle a few weeks away from an event. This is when I am trying to bridge the gap from speed into distance and push myself to the limit during my repeats. This will help me shave off a lot of time during my race.
I will do 8 rounds of this style of training.
Here is an example of how I do my repeats.
¼ mile rest 3.5 mph, incline 1
¾ mile of hard work 10-11mph, incline 1
I will do walking for my rest because of how intense the working repeat is. You will see a ton of crossover into your race times if you build up to this workout.
How often to do Treadmill Interval Workouts?
If you’re new to interval training I recommend doing them once a week and working up to three times a week when you get more advanced. Doing them too much can cause burnout and injury. Start slow and build up and you’ll be fast in no time.
Thank you for reading my article on Treadmill Interval Workouts. I hope that you enjoyed it.
checkout or article on how to improve your 5k time
