Keep Your Treadmill Workouts Interesting with These Tips

Boredom is one of the main killers of exercise programs. If you feel your treadmill workouts are becoming boring, mix it up a bit. There are a lot of things you can do to make your treadmill workouts interesting and enjoyable. Here are a few ideas:

Music, CDs, TV and Movies.

Most everyone has a favorite style of music. Use this to your advantage. Listening to your favorite music during treadmill workouts can make the time pass faster and it also helps you focus more. If music isn’t your thing, you may prefer to listen to audio books or motivational CDs. Treadmill workouts are also a great time to catch up on TV shows and watch movies.

Pyramid Walking.

Increase your walking pace by .1 mph every minute for 15 minutes. Then, slow your walking pace by .1 mph every minute for 15 minutes. This is an awesome mental and physical challenge.

Dancers.

If dancing is a favorite pastime, you can build up your strength and increase your balance by walking backwards on your treadmill. Keep your pace steady and even. This should only be tried by people who have good coordination!

Count the Numbers.

If you are a number junkie, count your steps every other minute. See how your steps change and increase as you move from one fitness level to another.

Circuit Training.

Treadmill workouts can benefit greatly by adding circuit training into the mix. Those of you who are interested in strength training can do lunges, crunches, free weights or some other strength building exercise for one minute after every five minutes of walking.

Stretching.

Stretching just feels good! After walking for ten minutes, get off of your machine and do stretch exercises for five minutes. Get back on your machine and repeat this process until your workout time is up.

Walk and Climb.

Place a stepper next to your treadmill and alternate between walking for five minutes and stepping for five minutes.

Walk To a Destination.

Many people love finding out how many miles it is to a favorite destination or relatives home and seeing how long it takes them to walk there on their treadmills. Chart your results and see how far it takes you to walk where you want to go.

Heart Rate Training.

Heart rate training is quick and intense. It is favored by many who are looking to bring variety into their workouts while keeping their fitness goals moving to the next level. Heart rate training involves monitoring your heart rate for the duration of your workout and moving in and out of different heart rate zones for two or three minute intervals.

These are just some ideas to make your treadmill workouts more fun and interesting. The possibilities of what you can do are endless. Try new things and see what works for you. Keeping boredom at bay will keep your fitness goals on track and make your treadmill workouts fly by.