Can you pack in an effective treadmill workout in 20 minutes? You bet! Here are my favorite 20-minute treadmill workouts for HIIT, fat-burning, de-stressing, and more.
Getting in your daily workout can sometimes seem impossible on those days, weeks, or months when life gets crazy busy.
You’ve got so much going on and nowhere near enough hours to fit it all. You barely have time to think, much less fit in hour-long gym sessions or cardio workouts.
But that’s where short, high-intensity workouts will be your best friend! In just a few minutes, you can knock a truly epic training session and walk away knowing you put in the effort necessary to lose weight, burn fat, and stay healthy.
In this post, we’re going to focus on highly time- and calorie-efficient treadmill workouts for weight loss, workouts you can do in 20 minutes (plus warm-up and cool-down time).
I’ll share with you my best treadmill sprint workouts to help you get in your daily training session in record time, along with walking and running workouts even beginners can do.
Give them a try, and you’ll feel so much better at the end of the day knowing you got in your workout without taking hours out of your day to do it.
Why the Treadmill is a Boss for 20-Minute Workouts
There are so many benefits of treadmill machines, so many reasons that it’s the best cardio machine in the gym. Here are just a few:
Amazing Cardiovascular Conditioning
No other form of cardio can engage your cardiovascular system so completely.
Your heart muscles grow stronger, your lungs are better able to absorb oxygen, and your blood vessels dilate and contract to allow the oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to reach your hard-working muscles.
Plus, treadmill running burns through the fat present in your blood vessels, preventing both fat gain and the build-up of plaque that leads to strokes and heart attacks.
Functional Training
All those other fancy machines like the elliptical and rowing machine are excellent workouts, but how often are you going to actually perform those movements in real life?
With the treadmill, you’re running, jogging, walking, and sprinting—all movements you will perform on a daily basis.
Treadmill training is the most functional form of training around. All the effort you put into your 20-minute treadmill workouts will translate into better athletic performance when playing sports, running with your pets, chasing your kids around the park, or going about your other activities of daily life.
Controlled Environment
There are many days when the weather outside is cold or rainy and I don’t feel at all like going for a run. Thankfully, with a treadmill in my home gym, I can hop on and get in an awesome cardio workout without ever having to step outside.
My gym is air-conditioned on hot days, heated on cold days, and always dry no matter how heavy the rain or snow is coming down outside.
Add to that the fact that it’s just next door to my home office, and it’s the most convenient way to get in a 20-minute workout I could ask for.
Excellent for Mental Health
On those days when my brain is tired from too much work, a 20-minute treadmill workout is just the break I need.
My body is working hard to run, but my mind is able to unwind and stop focusing on whatever is stressing me out. Instead, I’m focusing on my stride, breathing, heart rate, and whatever I’m listening to, reading, or watching to entertain myself on my run.
When the workout’s done, I step off the treadmill with a clear head, ready to get back to work or get on with my day.
Research has proven that running (both outdoors and on the treadmill) can offer a lot of mental health benefits, including:
- Increased learning ability
- Improved memory and recall
- Less stress
- Reduced depression and anxiety risk
- Elevated mood
- Better sleep quality
All of these are great reasons to add a 20-minute treadmill workout into your daily schedule, no matter how busy you are!
20-Minute Treadmill Workouts
Workout #1: De-Stressing Walk
Let’s be honest, we’ve all had days when we just need to go for a walk and clear our heads. If the weather outside is cold, wet, or snowy, a 20-minute treadmill walk is just the thing your brain and body both need!
The Workout:
- Start off with 2-3 minutes of light stretching. Limber up your muscles, which are very likely stiff from spending long hours sitting down. Follow this up with 2-3 minutes of slow-paced walking (at around 3.2 to 3.5 MPH) to warm up.
- Set the pace to a fast walk (around 3.8 to 4.0 MPH) and maintain that pace for the full 20 minutes. Pay attention to the way your body moves with each stride, focus on your breathing, and let the cares of the world vanish around you.
- Cool down with 2-3 minutes of light stretching before you head back to your desk or office.
Workout #2: Pyramid Run
This treadmill workout is designed to help you push your jogging or running speed up a notch.
It’s great training for anyone who wants to burn more calories every time they run, or complete that upcoming 5K or 10K race just that little bit faster.
The Workout:
- Warm up with 5 minutes of light stretching, followed by 5 minutes of slow-paced walking (at around 3.5 MPH).
- Raise the speed to 4.5 MPH. Run for 60 seconds.
- On the minute mark, raise the speed to 4.6 MPH and sustain the pace for 60 seconds.
- Every minute on the minute, keep raising the speed by 0.1 MPH until you hit 5.5 MPH.
- Every minute on the minute, lower the speed by 0.1 MPH until you’re back where you started at 4.5 MPH.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of slow-paced walking, followed by 5 minutes of light stretching.
Workout #3: Beginner HIIT Workout
If you’ve never tried high intensity interval training before, this is the perfect HIIT treadmill workout to show you what it’s all about.
Thanks to the short high-intensity interval and long recovery interval, you’ll be able to complete the full run without running out of steam, while still burning plenty of calories!
The Workout:
- Warm up with 5 minutes of light stretching, followed by 5 minutes of slow-paced walking (at around 3.5 MPH).
- Run for 30 seconds at 8.0 MPH.
- Recover for 120 seconds at a walk (3.5 to 4.0 MPH) or a jog (around 4.5 MPH).
- Repeat the 30/120 cycle 16 times, for a total of 20 minutes. (Trainer’s Note: If you’re struggling on your first HIIT run, settle for 12 cycles, or 15 minutes.)
- To make it even more challenging, try increasing the sprint speed by 0.2 to 0.5 MPH with every cycle.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of slow-paced walking, followed by 5 minutes of light stretching.
Workout #4: Tabata Sprints
The Tabata method is a popular form of HIIT training. It involves 20-second periods of high-intensity effort followed by 10-second recovery periods, repeated 8 times per 4-minute cycle.
With a bit of rest between each cycle to give your body a chance to recover, you’ll never run out of steam. However, during those cycles, you’ll be burning serious calories!
The Workout:
- Warm up with 5 minutes of light stretching, followed by 5 minutes of slow-paced walking (at around 3.5 MPH).
- Run at sprint speed (8 MPH or higher) for 20 seconds.
- Jump off the treadmill onto the stationary sides, and rest for 10 seconds.
- Repeat this 20/10 pattern 8 times, for a total of four minutes.
- Walk or jog for 2 minutes to recover.
- Perform at least three more 4-minute cycles, with 1-2 minutes of low-intensity movement between to recover.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of slow-paced walking, followed by 5 minutes of light stretching.
Workout #5: Hill Run
Using the incline on the treadmill allows you to simulate uphill running, which is amazing for strengthening your posterior chain leg muscles (glutes and hamstrings) as well as pushing your cardiovascular system extra-hard.
You’ll need to make sure your home gym has the best incline treadmill your budget will allow, but it’s an investment that will pay off in spades when you add this workout into your repertoire.
The Workout:
- Warm up with 5 minutes of light stretching, followed by 5 minutes of slow-paced walking (at around 3.5 MPH).
- Set the incline to 1% and your speed to either a fast jog (around 4.8 MPH) or run (around 5.5 MPH). Maintain this pace for 2 minutes.
- Raise the incline to 5%, and maintain your speed for 5 minutes.
- Raise the incline to 10%, and lower your speed by 0.3 to 0.5 MPH. Maintain this speed for 5 minutes.
- Raise the incline to 15%, and lower your speed to a slow jog (around 4.5 MPH). Spend the remainder of your time running at this incline setting and pace.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of slow-paced walking at 0% incline, followed by 5 minutes of light stretching.
Workout #6: Beast Mode Training
Think you’re ready to take your fitness to the next level?
This workout is not for the faint of heart, but anyone looking to push their cardio conditioning and sprint training up a notch will have a blast seeing how many cycles they can repeat before they run out of steam—or run out the clock.
The Workout:
- Warm up with 5 minutes of light stretching, followed by 5 minutes of slow-paced walking (at around 3.5 MPH).
- Raise the speed to 9 MPH and sprint for 30 seconds.
- Lower the speed to a jog (around 4.5 MPH) for 30 seconds.
- Repeat the 30/30 intervals as many times as you can for 20 minutes. (To really give yourself a challenge, try pushing the sprint pace to 9.5 or 10 MPH.)
- Cool down with 5 minutes of slow-paced walking, followed by 5 minutes of light stretching.
20-Minute Treadmill Workouts – FAQs
Can you lose weight by doing just 20 minutes a day on the treadmill?
If you look at the number of calories burned on the treadmill during a HIIT workout, you’ll see that it’s a pretty significant amount.
According to data collected by Harvard Medical School, in a 20-minute workout, a 155-pound person can burn:
- 190 calories at 5 MPH
- 237 calories at 6 MPH
- 297 calories at 7.5 MPH
- 370 calories at 10 MPH
Add this calorie expenditure to a controlled diet where you eat just the right number of calories to fuel your body, and you’ll end the day at a calorie deficit.
Over time, a small calorie deficit (under 500 calories per day) adds up to real, long-term, and sustainable weight loss.
What is the best 20-minute treadmill workout for burning fat?
When it comes to burning fat, no 20-minute treadmill workout will be more effective than a HIIT workout (such as the Tabata Sprints, Beast Mode Training, or Beginner HIIT Workout I shared above).
During the periods of maximum intensity, your body burns through a lot of stored energy, forcing it to tap into fat stores during the recovery period.
Ultimately, though you’re only doing 20 minutes of training, you can burn more calories in a HIIT workout than you would in a 45 to 60 minute jog or a 60+ minute walk1.
And, as you know, the more calories you burn in your workouts, the more fat your body burns to replenish depleted energy. The fact that HIIT also boosts your metabolism for hours after the end of your training session just makes it all the more effective for burning fat.
The Bottom Line
Don’t have time for a long, drawn-out workout? Don’t worry about it!
These workouts I shared above will help you make the most of what time you do have, even if it’s just 20 minutes in the middle of a busy day.
Whether you are brand new to cardio training or you’ve been a gym-going regular for years, there will be a workout that suits your fitness level and helps you to push your body the way you need to in order to see real fat-burning and weight loss results.
More Treadmill Guides and Articles
How Long Should I Run on the Treadmill Machine? (For Weight Loss, Cardio, Speed, and More). Wondering how long you should run on the treadmill for your workout goals? Here’s how long to run on the treadmill machine for weight loss, cardio, and more.
