Find treadmill running boring? Here are the best workouts to break up the monotony
While some hardy souls love a treadmill workout, many find the 'dreadmill' to be little more than a torture device. It's a well-known fact that time passes slower on a treadmill than anywhere else. In fact, we've long espoused the theory that treadmill minutes are a bit like dogs years – seven outdoor minutes equalling one on the inside.
However, this really doesn't need to be the case. The treadmill is not only an excellent training tool – offering you the opportunity to focus on your pace without the distractions of hills, obstacles or heat – but can also help alleviate any injury potential. Many elite runners, for instance, will run a proportion of their weekly miles on the treadmill. This is because the surface is a bit softer, so there is less cumulative impact on their limbs. Many other runners may prefer to use the treadmill for safety reasons, too, especially in the winter months when the hours of darkness are long.
The best way to make a treadmill session fly by is to break it up into chunks. While we have offered specific training sessions below, you don't need to do intervals to do this. If you are following a training plan that calls for 40 minutes easy, for instance, why not break it up by thinking of it as a 10-minute warm up, 20 minutes at a slightly steadier pace (though still conversational) then a 10-minutes cooldown.
What are the benefits of running on a treadmill?
There are many benefits of running on a treadmill, including avoiding bad weather, slippery roads, or either very busy or very quiet roads that don't feel safe.
While you may hear people claim that treadmill running is 'easier' this is not the case -
research shows hows that your biomechanical patterns don’t change on a treadmill vs when running outside. On smaller treadmills, some runners may find that the space available does cause them to slightly shorten their stride, but that's not always the case and if it's only occasional, is anyway unlikely to be an issue. Another study found that your VO2 max (a measure how much oxygen your body can utilise during the run) is the same when running on a treadmill compared to outside. So while running outside can sometimes feel harder than running on a treadmill (though equally many people feel the opposite) what is actually going on inside your body is very similar. After all, your cardiovascular system doesn't "know" what surface you are running on.
If you don’t own a treadmill, and are thinking about investing, read our guide to the best treadmills.
What pace should I be running on the treadmill?
Treadmill running can be used for runs of all paces – from hard and fast intervals to easy miles. But if you're new to the 'mill, don't try to set a speed record on your maiden outing. Even experienced runners may take a while to get used to the feel of faster paces on a treadmill.
If you normally run to feel, or in miles rather than kilometres, setting up your treadmill can be the first hurdle. In order to convert min/km to min/miles, use our handy pace converter here.
Should I put the treadmill on a gradient?
It's often said that you 'should' put the treadmill at a gradient of 1% to more accurately similate outdoor running. But this largely originates in a misunderstanding of a famous treadmill study. Back in 1996, Andrew Jones of the University of Brighton published a study titled 'A 1% treadmill grade most accurately reflects the energetic cost of outdoor running'. However, this was only the case with efforts faster than 7:09 min per mile pace. This is because at paces slower than that, the 'cost' of running outside - and more air resistance - may be slightly greater than doing so indoors. However, other researchers would say this is anyway negated by the fact that you may well be getting hotter on a gym treadmill than you would outside. Either way, it's not something to worry about.
How can I make treadmill running less dull?
Any run is more maneagable if you break it into chunks, and treadmill runs are no exception. And they don't need to be intervals as such. Even on an easy run, you can alternate between 'super easy' and 'marginally less easy' every few minutes simply to break up the monotony.
Five-time Olympian and RW columnist Jo Pavey says, 'Neither of the paces need to be really hard, but by breaking the run into segments, you can focus on one segment at a time. A higher intensity workout – closer to an interval session – can also be done by working hard for repetitions of different lengths, then reducing the speed to a slow jog for the recoveries. I prefer a slow jog recovery rather than stopping, as I find it breaks up the workout too much to get on and off a treadmill.
'Tempo runs are also great on a treadmill, with the warm-up and warm-down being part of the workout too. Or, for a hill workout, try ramping up the incline for a minute with a two-minute steady recovery."
She points out, though, that while boredom may be offputting, "the ability to withstand a degree of tedium on a treadmill improves mental toughness and the ability to focus your running.'
Of course, we also recommend you try cranking up your best tunes. Just make sure you've charged those wireless headphones, downloaded the best playlists or audiobooks beforehand, and get lost in the noise.
What third-party apps can I use?
Thanks to a raft of third-party software and apps, there are also now an array of high tech options to spice up your treadmill workout by running in virtual worlds and against other runners across the world.
Zwift Run is the best known. It’s free to use for runners – but you will need to buy a RunPod that attaches to your shoe to track cadence. The concept is simple – switch the app on and enter Zwift’s virtual world, where you can run in fictional and real-life locations (including London, New York and Yorkshire). You'll be pounding the pavements alongside runners and cyclists from across the globe, and you can enter group runs, complete different loops and follow Zwift’s training plans for added motivation.
Other popular virtual world apps are Treadmill Trails, Rouvy and Kinomap. They offer real running routes filmed by users across the world that you can run along from the comfort of your treadmill and see how you rank against other users. Some treadmills with a Bluetooth connection will even alter the elevation to match the onscreen metrics.
Peleton also have their own app - you don't need a Peleton treadmill to use it, you can just take it to the gym and use whatever you have access to. Download the app for free and try some of their treadmill workouts, led by an enthusiastic instructor.
What are the best workouts to do on a treadmill?
1. The Workout: A “3-2-1” speed session
In order to do this workout, you’ll need to work out your fast pace, so use our training pace calculator to work out what that should be. Remember that pace is unique to you, and what you are training for, so don't worry about what anyone else's fast pace may be! Your recovery pace should just be a very gentle jog that allows your heart rate to come down.
5 minutes gentle warmup
3 minutes fast
2 minutes recovery
2 minutes fast
2 minutes recovery
1 minute fast
2 minute recovery
Repeat that set of 3, 2, 1 min fast with 2 minute recoveries
5 minute cool down
Intermediate/ advanced runners: Repeat the 3-2-1 fast/recovery block a third time. You may also wish to extend the warm up and cool down to 10 minutes.
2. The Workout: 12-3-30
Try one of the world’s most googled workouts.
Set a treadmill to a 12% incline
Walk up it at a pace of 3 miles an hour for 30 minutes.
Too easy? Try the 12-4-30 instead.
3. The Workout: Hills to help you build strength
5 minutes warm up
1 min fast at 2% incline
1 min fast at 4% incline
1 min fast at 6% incline
1 min fast at 8% incline
2 minutes easy at 1% incline
Repeat the set but this time at 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%
2 minutes easy
Repeat the set a third time at 6%, 8%, 10%, 12%
5 minute cool down
4. The Workout: Progression run
A 30-minute workout that will move you gradually from your easy pace to your 5K pace. The below is an example chosen for a 25-minute 5k runner, but it can adapted to any pace: just work backwards from your own 5K pace, adding 30 secs per km for each interval.
5 minute warm up
5 minutes at 6:30min/km
5 minutes at 6:00min/km
5 minutes at 5:30min/km
5 minutes at 5:00min/km
5 minutes cool down
A progression run is a great workout for any race, though if you are targeting a 10k or longer, you might wish to simply extend each block.
5. The Workout: Run/walk hills for beginners
If you’re relatively new to running and want to make things a bit more challenging, try this run/walk workout.
5 minutes easy jog or brisk walk to warm up
1 minute walk at treadmill incline of 1%
1 minute jog at 0%
2 minutes walk at incline of 2%
2 minutes jog at 0%
3 minute walk at incline of 3%
3 minute jog at 0%
4 minute walk at incline of 4%
4 minute jog at 0%
5 minutes easy jog or walk cooldown
6. The Workout: A quick 5K threshold
Your threshold pace is roughly a pace you could hold for around 50 minutes to an hour in a race. Many running watches these days can actually estimate your threshold pace for you.
1km easy warm up
3km at your threshold pace (somewhere between your 10km race pace and half marathon one)
1km easy cooldown
7. The Workout: 5K intervals
1km easy warm up
3 x 1km at your 10K pace, with two to three minutes recovery jog between each km.
1km easy cool down
As you get more confident, try to build up to 6 x 1K at 10K pace. Then you can also work on increasing the pace.
8. The Workout: 800m repeats
This is a more advanced workout for experienced runners training for longer distances. Combining tempo efforts with faster reps is also a great way to mix up a session and make it go by faster.
3km warm-up
5km tempo
3min recovery jog
5 x 800m fast with 1min recovery between each
3km cool-down
9. The Workout: Gradual speed increase for pregnant runners
This is a workout devised by Katie Sloane, Kings of the Wild Frontier and 2021 Zwift Academy athlete when she was pregnant. The aim is for each set to get faster, but never 'into the red zone' - make sure you really feel in control of the workout. This is also a great session for runners building confidence again after injury or setback. The paces you set for both 'on' efforts and rest are entirely up to you.
10min warm-up
2 minutes on
45 seconds rest
1 minute on
30 second rest
30sec on
90 sec rest
Repeat this set x 6
10min cooldown
10. The Workout: Zwift’s over/unders
You'll find this workout on Zwift Run in its Training section – as Zwift says, the focus is to “become more efficient with higher intensity efforts and to teach the body how to recover after hard efforts”.
8 min warm up
1min at 95% of your 5K pace
1min at 105% of your 5K pace
Repeat this set four times
3 minutes rest
1min at 95% 5K pace
1min at 105% 5K pace
Repeat this set four times again
Cool-down
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