Personal Trainers Say These Are the Most Effective Treadmill Workouts
The treadmill is one of the most versatile pieces of workout equipment—and there is no shortage of treadmill workouts that you can incorporate into your fitness routine to stay fit and spice up your workout plan. Whether you have a folding treadmill for use at home or prefer to hop on one at your local gym, these workouts offer an efficient and effective way to introduce more cardio exercises to your fitness routine.
“Treadmills are the usual go-to machine for targeting the cardiovascular system. This machine improves balance and endurance, hitting all muscle groups in the body at once,” explains Jim White, R.D.N., A.C.S.M. Ex-P, owner of Jim White Fitness and Nutrition. Plus, “being able to control the speed and intensity of the machine creates versatility that can be helpful for people recovering from an injury or surgery,” he says.
Meet the experts: Jim White, R.D.N., A.C.S.M. Ex-P, owner of Jim White Fitness and Nutrition Studios; Noelle McKenzie, C.P.T., co-owner of Leading Edge Personal Trainers
Below, learn more about the benefits of working out on the treadmill—and get ready to lace up your treadmill walking shoes and try out our expert-recommended treadmill workouts.
Benefits of treadmill workouts
“Using a treadmill to work out is a great way to train cardio health,” says Noelle McKenzie, C.P.T., co-owner of Leading Edge Personal Trainers, noting that treadmill workouts are especially useful for zone two cardio—a heart rate zone that reaches 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. Zone two training helps increase endurance and is a great way to build foundational fitness.
“Treadmills allow you to burn calories and fat in a relatively short period of time especially if you up the intensity,” McKenzie adds. “It can help build strength and improve muscle activation in the lower extremities when you’re pushing the pace and resistance.”
In addition to cardiovascular benefits like strengthening the heart, improving blood circulation, and reducing blood pressure, White adds that treadmill workouts offer mental health benefits, too. “Exercising on the treadmill helps relieve stress and improves mood, as seen with resistance training,” he explains. “The [release of] dopamine associated with exercise allows the individual to feel a rush of energy and productivity, allowing them to feel good about themselves and move their body.”
7 treadmill workouts
12-3-30 workout
This incline walking workout “went viral [on social media] when multiple people noticed their weight loss and [body] changes while incorporating the treadmill routine,” White explains. As for the numbers? 12 stands for the incline that will be used during the workout, three stands for the speed, and 30 stands for the duration of the exercise in minutes.
The 12-3-30 workout is fairly straightforward. Simply set the treadmill to a speed of three, increase the incline to 12%, and continue at that pace for 30 minutes. For an additional challenge, “Try not to hold on to anything and walk upright so there are zero imbalances in your body,” White says. “This will help with posture, balance, and core stability.”
Zone two training
Getting into zone two means that you are reaching 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, McKenzie says, which is “most effective for fat burning.” You can use a fitness tracker equipped with a heart rate feature to most accurately gauge when you enter zone two, but McKenzie describes it as a “conversational pace,” or a pace at which you can comfortably hold a conversation without gasping for air.
Per McKenzie’s instructions, hold this pace for one hour at a zero to a slight incline, depending on how difficult it is for you to get into zone two. “Once here maintain this pace without pushing any faster.”
Side-stepping workout
White explains that this side-stepping routine targets the muscles in your lower body, particularly the glutes, hip abductors, adductors, and inner thighs. It’s especially helpful for improving balance, stability, and lateral strength. Below, find White’s instructions for this 30-minute workout:
First, you’ll begin with a warm-up. Set the treadmill to a slow speed (between one and two) and set the incline to somewhere between one and three. Walk (facing forward) for one minute, followed by a four-minute jog at your preferred speed.
Before you start side-stepping, reduce the speed somewhere between one and two. Take a few steps facing forward to get your body used to the speed and then turn your body sideways, facing the railing of the machine. Then, get into a squatting position and sidestep for about 30 seconds before walking forward again. Turn your body to the other side and sidestep again for about 30 seconds.
Walk facing forward for about one minute once again. Now is where you’ll take things up a notch. Increase the speed to a slow jogging pace, turn to the side, and sidestep for two minutes. Continue this pattern of sidestepping for two minutes and walking forward for one minute, switching the direction each time you sidestep.
After you’ve completed the 30-minute workout, cool down for five minutes with a walk at a slow speed facing forward.
Hill repeats
If you’re looking to get stronger while on the treadmill, try this workout developed by McKenzie that is both incline- and interval-based. “It will strengthen your posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, calves) because you’re running uphill,” she explains. “It’s also going to improve your recovery and muscular endurance.”
To perform the workout, set the treadmill to an incline of five (maybe slightly higher or lower depending on your fitness level) and a speed you can only maintain for about 30 seconds. The incline will stay the same throughout the entire workout but you will alternate your running speed with a walking recovery pace. Alternate 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off. Repeat these intervals for at least five rounds, but McKenzie says an ideal duration would be eight to 10 rounds.
Steady hill workout
“Hill workouts burn more calories and use multiple muscles while exercising,” White says. “This type of treadmill exercise simply consists of finding the best incline that the individual can sustain for 30 minutes.”
Begin by warming up for five minutes with a gentle walk before setting a moderately intense speed (somewhere between a brisk walk and a jog). Next, select a challenging incline that you can sustain for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes is over, reduce the incline to zero and cool down with a five-minute walk.
Interval training
“Interval training on the treadmill can be performed in multiple ways,” White explains. You can adjust your speed from a power walking or jogging pace to a full-out sprint, and adjust the length of the intervals—making these workouts suitable for the beginner as well as the advanced athlete. Below, White outlines an example of an interval training treadmill workout involving sprints.
Start with a five-minute, gentle walk to warm up (ideally somewhere around a speed of three). Next, alternate sprinting and resting. Perform a full sprint (the speed will vary for everyone depending on fitness level) for 30 seconds, and then rest by placing your feet on the sides of the treadmill for 30 seconds. “This will be a rotating cycle back and forth of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for a total of 10 minutes,” White explains. For more of a challenge, you can raise the incline to a level of your choice. Once the 10 minutes is up, cool down with another five-minute walk.
Fartlek training
A fartlek is a workout that plays with varying speeds. The difference between a fartlek and interval training is that with intervals you will have periods of complete rest whereas with a fartlek you will mix various paces. “The benefit of this workout is that it will improve your speed and endurance,” McKenzie explains.
In this fartlek designed by McKenzie, you will be running a 10k. Start by running two miles “at a pace that is difficult to maintain” for more than that. Then, you’ll switch to a much slower pace (like your conversational zone two pace, for instance) for one mile. Follow this up with a mile at a much slower pace (a zone two conversational pace). Keep alternating back and forth in this way for a total of 6.2 miles (10k). Not interested in running that far? Simply alternate back and forth until you reach your desired distance.
What is a good speed and incline for beginners?
Our experts agree that it’s always best to start low and slow in terms of incline and speed on a treadmill. For speed, the goal is to find a pace you can maintain with good form, McKenzie says. She explains that in general, the average pace for walking and jogging is as follows:
Walking: 2.5-3.5 mph
Brisk walking: 3.5-4.5 mph
Jogging: 4.5-5.5 mph
Try starting with a slower speed for your desired activity level and gradually increase by.5 mph until you reach a challenging yet comfortable pace.
When selecting an incline, McKenzie suggests starting at 0% (flat ground) and gradually increasing to a 1-2% incline for the average waking or running treadmill workout. You may wish to go higher if you are trying out a hill or incline-based workout.
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