Kiss Exercise Boredom Goodbye with These Treadmill Workouts

Why do most people quit their exercise program? Boredom! If treadmill workouts are growing old and stale to you, shake it up a bit. Here are some tips to bring the fun back to your treadmill workouts and to keep you on track to reach your fitness goals.

CDs, TV, Movies and Music
Treadmill workouts are a great time to catch up on television shows, movies, motivational CDs and all those audio books you have wanted to listen to. Music lovers often find that walking to music makes working out more fun and enjoyable. Sing along and keep yourself entertained!

Walk the Pyramid
For those of you who really like mental and physical challenges, try walking the pyramid. During your treadmill workouts, every minute try to increase your walking pace by .1 mph for 15 minutes. Then, decrease your walking pace by .1 mph for the remaining 15 minutes of your treadmill workout.

Dancing Exercises
If dancing is your thing, walking backwards on a treadmill can increase your balance and help build up your strength. This should only be attempted by people who have really good coordination!

1, 2, 3
Many people get a kick out of counting their steps during their treadmill workouts. If numbers are your thing, count your steps for one minute. Take a break for one minute; continue counting the next minute and so on. Watching your walking pace increase as your fitness level increases is a great motivation for some people.

Circuit Training
Start out your treadmill workouts by walking for five minutes. Then, for the next five minutes get off your machine and do free weights, crunches, lunges or some other strength building exercise for one minute. Keep repeating this process until your workout time is up.

Stretching
Who doesn’t love stretching? If stretching makes you feel good, add it to your treadmill workouts! After every ten minutes of walking, get off our machine and do stretching exercises for five minutes.

Step and Walk
Adding a stepper into your treadmill workouts can really shake things up and take your fitness level higher. Take turns alternating between walking for five or ten minutes, then getting off your machine and using a stepper for five or ten minutes.

Travel the World
If you are into travel and adventure, why not walk there? Chart how far away a specific destination is and see how long it takes you to walk there on your treadmill. Who knows? You may actually do it one day!

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
Many people love HIIT training because it’s a quick and intense treadmill workout and is extremely effective at burning fat. All you need to do is determine your maximum heart rate zone and cycle in and out of it and your other heart rate zones for the duration of your workout. This workout can be as short as 20 minutes!

As you can see, the possibilities are endless when it comes to treadmill workouts. Try a few of these ideas, or come up with a few of your own. Do whatever it takes to chase boredom away. It is one of the biggest exercise enemies!