How To Beat Treadmill Boredom
7 Ways To Get More From Your Treadmill Workout
Got the treadmill boredom blues?
Even though treadmills today have more options than ever, workouts can get a little stale – especially when you do them every day.
Treadmill boredom is one of the reasons people get off track and stop losing weight. It can derail even the best of intentions.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are 7 ways you can beat treadmill boredom and get more from your workout time:
#1 Try an Interval Workout
Instead of running at a constant pace, you could try mixing up your run with easy and hard segments. Try 1 minute hard work then 2 – 3 minutes at a less intense pace.
The hard work interval could be either a high incline, high speed or a mix of both – whatever gets your heart pumping.
#2 Workout with a Friend
If you have a friend that is also working out on a treadmill, you could consider running next to one another (maybe at the gym for example). If you have a home gym with more than one piece of fitness equipment you could also workout on the treadmill while they use another machine.
You have the chance to talk with your friend and motivate one another at the same time. Plus the workout time just seems to go by a lot faster.
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#3 Mix It Up with Strength-training Exercises
After having your warm-up you could run or walk at a comfortable pace for almost five minutes and then step off and do some strength training exercises like push-ups, crunches, dips and lunges.
When done, get back on the treadmill and do it all again – run/walk for 5 minutes followed by another set of strength training exercises.
#4 Turn Down the Speed and Do Lunges
Lunges are a great way to work the large muscles in your legs. Do a 5 minute regular walking/jogging session and then turn the speed down to about 0.5 MPH.
Then do slow lunges as the treadmill moves forward slowly (be sure not to hyperextend your knees!)
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#5 Zone Out
Since you’re running without having to think about any route, you will be given the chance to lose in the rhythm of the breathing or pounding feet. Consider blocking everything that might be around you and so try entering a peaceful and relaxing state. With that treadmill boredom will be changed to peace of mind – your zen time so to speak.
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#6 Watch Motivational Youtube Videos
This is one of my favorite ways to beat treadmill boredom and spice up my routing. I have a treadmill desk that holds my laptop and I just go on to youtube and look for motivational music videos.
There are some great ones by MotivationGrid and others with motivational speakers, music and video shots. It really gets me inspired for the day and causes me to work a lot harder in my morning workout routine.
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#7 Alternate with Another Cardio Machine
Break up your time on the treadmill with another machine like an elliptical, rowing machine or exercise bike. Who says you have to do 20 minutes on each?
Why not do 10 minutes on one, then 10 on another, then 10 on another, etc. If you’re at home, you may be limited to 2 machines – or whatever you have.
But if you’re at the gym, you probably have several options (provided there are no time slot sign-ups).
If you’re at home, you could also alternate with running up the stairs as one of your “machines”.
So those are 7 ways on how to beat treadmill boredom. Remember that it’s all about continually challenging yourself to go further. Feeling like you’re making progress will get you excited about sticking to your workout routine every day. And that will keep you on track!
