5 ways to break the boredom on a treadmill
There’s plenty of reasons why having a treadmill at home is awesome, you can start at your own level of fitness, it's available 24/7 - 365 days a year, it’s brilliant for de-stressing after work or when the kids are finally in bed. If you’re anything like me, pump classes aren't your vibe. If I want music thats too loud with people yelling - go to a nightclub. The beauty of using a treadmill at home is the ease of use, they are simple to maintain, there’s no shouty people, you can play your own music or watch tv, and it’s not necessary for any bells and whistles.
For some people though, the thought of training on their own or running on a treadmill fills them with fear of boredom… So here’s 5 ways to make your treadmill workout more exciting!
Include a warm up and movement prep
Rather than just jumping on the treadmill and walking, jogging or running, incorporate a warm up into your workout routine. We’re talking a proper warm up, unroll the yoga mat, grab a loop band and activate key muscles that you’ll be using on the treadmill.
Even something as simple as band walking, some squats and glute activation shown in the picture below can make your session a bit more exciting.
Use intervals to keep it interesting
Most treadmills will have interval functions preprogrammed into their consoles but you can also do your own ad hoc versions. This includes shifting from a walk to a brisk walk, from a walk to a jog or from a jog to a sprint. It will keep your treadmill workout interesting but there’s also loads of benefits to adding high intensity bursts to your cardio work. Intervals are a great boredom buster! You’ll also burn a load of calories training like this as well.
Use the incline function to spice it up
To put it simply, the higher you climb the harder you work. Want to get more out of your workout? Use the incline function. It will increase the intensity of your workout without having to increase your workout time or speed. You’ll stimulate muscles differently working on an incline and you’ll also burn more calories than walking at the same speed on zero incline.
Burn Calories whilst Podcasting
If you love listening to podcasts why not combine that with your love of fitness and burn calories at the same time. It helps make the most of your training time and also allows you to set appointments with yourself during the week. I’ve had some clients in the past only allow themselves to listen to their favourite podcasts when they’re doing their cardio work because it helps keep them accountable.
Use a weight vest
Amp up your workouts with a weight vest. A really simple addition to your training that allows you to increase calorie burn without messing too much with intensity. According to this study women who wore a weighted vest whilst walking at 4kph burned 12% more calories than the women who didn't wear a vest in the study. Using a weight vest will help you build the capacity of your cardiovascular system, muscle endurance and over time will help build strength.
These are just 5 simple ways to funk up your treadmill workouts to keep you interested and motivated on your fitness journey. If you’re currently looking to set up your own home gym you can see our short guide to that here. Happy running.
Written by Fitness Warehouse Personal Trainer, Simon Mitchell. Simon has a Bachelor of Human Movement, is a certified FMS trainer and has worked in the fitness industry since 2003. Simon started his fitness journey as a trainer with iNform Health and Fitness before moving into commercial radio and then back into fitness with Bodyism in the United Kingdom and Australia. A career highlight was being one of Daisy Ridley's personal trainers on Star Wars IX - The Rise Of Skywalker.