Tanya’s Treadmill Tales (guest post).
Thu, Jul 30, 2009
Hey Mizfitters …or should I say mizfits!
It’s Tanya here from Iateapie & IntheGym.
I’m a food scientist turned teacher of chemistry & food principles.
(Yes – I was once researching & making those long multi-syllable chemical sounding names you find in some foods!)
I’m really into all things food … ummm …. let me ammend that to say except for cooking, which I like to do … because I need to eat.
You won’t really find me in the kitchen for more than 30 minutes. You will however, find me in the gym every morning.
It seems I have moved to a new city every year, and the first 2 things I do are get a library card and a gym membership.
Some people can work out at home – I can’t. I wouldn’t ever leave the computer screen!
It’s even more important to me now that I’m currently taking care of 2 little boys (and 1 big boy) - it’s my means of escaping … I mean, making sure I stay fit. Yeah … that’s what I meant…
So here are a few things Ive learned along the way—hope they help you as well.
Getting Creative With Treadmill Runs.
I run a few times a week, but it wasn’t until recently that I started playing around with altering the speeds during my run to make it more exciting, and boy did it ever work. My treadmill runs are no longer as boring and I ended up challenging myself by incorporating higher speeds than I would normally do.
I started sharing my treadmill runs at IntheGym.net and here are 2 of my favorites.
Blast It 20 Minute Treadmill Run
* Run like the wind for 8 minutes. Speed 7.0.
* 8-10 minutes. Walk for 2 minutes. Speed 4.0.
* 10-15 minutes. Faster – you can do it for 5 minutes. Speed 7.5.
* 15-17 minutes. Walk for 2 minutes. Speed 4.0.
* 17-20 minutes. Blast it for 3 minutes! Speed 8.0.
* Slow down. Cool down. You did great!5 4 3 2 1 Sweaty Interval Treadmill Workout
This interval type workout has you running for a set period of time with 1 minute of rest in between. The basics: Run for 5 minutes, walk for 1, run for 4 minutes, walk for 1, run for 3 minutes, walk for 1, run for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute, sprint for 1 minute, walk for 1. Each time you run, increase speed by 0.5. Example:* Set 1Warm up with a 5 minute jog. Speed 6.2.
* Slow it down for 1 minute. Speed 4.0).
* Increase the pace and run for 4 minutes. Speed 6.5.
* Take a breather for 1 minute by walking or jogging. Speed 4.0 or 6.2 for a jogging pace).
* Increase the pace and run for 3 minutes. Speed 7.0.
* Slow it down for 1 minute by walking or jogging. Speed 4.0 or 6.2 for a jogging pace).
* Increase the pace and run for 2 minutes. Speed 7.5.
* Slow it down for 1 minute by walking or jogging. Speed 4.0 or 6.2 for a jogging pace).
* Increase the pace and run for 1 minute. Speed 8.0.
* Slow it down for 1 minute by walking or jogging. Speed 4.0 or 6.2 for a jogging pace).
* Set 2REPEAT Set 1.
* The Finish41-46 minutes. 5 minutes tempo run. Level 6.5.
* 46-50 minutes. Cool down with a 4 minute walk. Level 4.0.
Want some MizFit with your Thursday? You can find me ranting posting over here.
Love this! I must prefer to run outside but due to weather etc, sometimes we all have to hit up the mill. I did so yesterday and found myself totally bored. I will be using your tips in the future for sure
Hi Tanya! I’m also a 30-minute cook!
I love doing intervals on the treadmill, even though I can’t really run yet!
LOVE doing intervals on the treadmill to keep me from losing my mind from boredom!! Thanks for the new sets
I’m tucking this away for when the snow re-appears and I’m forced back onto the treadmill.
I love the idea to adding creativity to treadmill runs. When I mix things up time passes by so quickly!
Great workout Tanya! I get so bored on the treadmill, so this is a great way to make it more exciting! (Well as exciting as running on a treadmill can be..lol)
Thanks for this! I hit the treadmill every day I am at work on my lunch break and I struggle sometimes with the same ole!
I am gonna try the blast it today!
Happy Thursday!
Holy cow, that’s so precise.
Exercise is soooo great, what a feeling to move and challenge our muscles. After I post this comment I plan on hopping up to do a little dance followed by 20 buttock lifts on each side!
Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks for sharing these workouts! I am wondering if you manually change the speed as you go? If so do you find it cumbersome?
I would need a new treadmill. Smoke comes out the back at 4.0.
I do a lot of different things on the treadmill from steady sate to HIIT to intervals to highest level hill walking , slow hill jogging, side stepping, walking backwards & anything else I can think of… plenty of ways to change it up! Thx for sharing!
Great workout! Switching up the speed/elevation makes it all that much more interesting.
Gah! My “sprint” speed is between 7 and 8 MPH depending on the day. Would totally have to adjust those numbers.
Still love the way folks make treadmills interesting.
And, I, too. am a 30 minute cook.
I like intervals for outside too plus it keeps your body guessing. I get bored pretty quickly at the same pace even outside.
I actually blogged about this yesterday – instead of just a boring run I challenged myself to beat my best 5k race time and I smashed it! For me, just attaching a goal to a workout changes everything…
Next week I’m going to give intervals a try. I had taken a break from them but I think it’s time to go back…
I am back…just wanted to tell you I gave the “blast it” treadmill run a go. I couldn’t run at 7 but started it at 6 and changed it accorndingly… It wasn’t easy but I did it!
Thanks for the inspiration and it was nice to change things a bit.
was a challenge for sure
Hey guys – thanks for the feedback. Adjusting the levels during the run isn’t too dificult since most of the intervals are the same. I also only adjust either speed OR incline but not both at the same time – too much going on.
Hope you guys have a great time switching up your runs!
Love the sound of those treadmill workouts. Now that the weather has returned to Pacific NW normal, I think I’ll give those a go (assuming I don’t fly off the back at speed 8 and smack the wall behind me) on my run-at-home days.
Seriously – I can’t imagine running on a treadmill without doing intervals!
boring!
Many thanks for posting an excellent song