Ready to crank up the speed on the treadmill? Here are seven treadmill sprint workouts for building speed, endurance, and burning a metric ton of calories.
- Why the Treadmill Rocks for Building Speed
- Treadmill Sprint Workouts for Speed
- Treadmill Sprint Workouts — FAQs
When it comes to building straight-up speed and power, no cardio machine can compete with the treadmill machine.
The treadmill is pure functionality, as well, particularly for athletes who need to be able to generate speed and power at a moment’s notice. Sprint workouts are also an excellent way to liven up your cardio workouts and burn a ton of calories quickly.
In this guide to the best treadmill sprint workouts for speed and burning calories, we’ll look at the specific benefits of treadmills for this kind of training. Then, we’ll look at my favorite seven sprint workouts you can try the next time you saddle up on the treadmill machine.
Unleash the lightning!
Why the Treadmill Rocks for Building Speed
Here are a few reasons that I’ll always advocate for using the treadmill (all types of treadmills, really) for building speed:
Control over your speed
When you’re running outdoors, you have to guess what your sprint pace is—and that can often work against you. Maybe you start sprinting too fast, so you run out of steam before you can complete your full sprint distance.
Or maybe you sprint too slow, going more at a fast run than a proper sprint, so you never really push your body. But on the treadmill, you can set your pace down to the 1/10th of an MPH.
Control over your speed means more regular improvements in your sprint time and speed.
Control the terrain
Unless you’re running on a specific running or sprinting track, chances are you’re going to encounter a variety of terrains.
Sprinting on flat ground is already challenging enough, but add in a decline and your knees take a pounding, or add an incline and your legs will struggle to make it up the hill.
On the treadmill, you can set the machine to flat-road feel and keep it at that setting for the entire workout. Or, if you feel ready to tackle some hills, raise or lower the incline as desired.
But you control your terrain completely.
Never get rained or snowed in
The key to seeing results from your treadmill workouts for weight loss and speed is to be consistent.
The only way you’ll get better is if you train regularly—at least 2-4 sessions per week. That can be easier said than done during the wet rainy months of the year, or the chilly winter months.
But with a treadmill, you’re indoors and in an environment that is warm, dry, and safe all year around. You’ll never have to worry about getting rained or snowed in.
Run lighter and easier
There are few things quite as annoying as trying to sprint train while bundled up in a hat, scarf, gloves, parka, two base layers, pants, leggings, and heavy boots to keep out the cold. Or, almost as bad can be trying to train inside heavy and cumbersome rain gear.
Really, you want to be carrying as little excess weight of clothing as possible so you can run fast and free. Training indoors on the treadmill means you can strip down to just the bare essentials—shirt, shorts, and shoes—so you’re unburdened enough you can push your speed.
Track every workout metric
I love how modern treadmills track and display a broad range of workout metrics: speed, distance, time per 200m/1km, average pace, calories burned, heart rate, and more. It’s amazing to be able to track every detail of your workout because you can then compare each workout to others before it.
That way, you’ll know if you’re making steady progress—or, if not, you can highlight certain workouts where your performance dipped and try to figure out the reasons why (diet, fatigue, intensity, etc.).
Train with less strain
Workouts on the treadmills for heavy people can be a lot gentler on your joints than running outdoors, especially on hard concrete. Sprinting is a very high-impact workout, which can take a toll on your feet, ankles, knees, hips, lower back, and even your neck and shoulders.
Most treadmills are designed to reduce impact so you’ll feel less discomfort with every step, and there will be less wear and tear on your joints and bones.
As a bigger, heavier guy myself, I’ll tell you that bit of impact-reduction built into the treadmill platform can make a huge difference over the course of a 30-minute treadmill workout.
Treadmill Sprint Workouts for Speed
Workout 1: Basic Sprint Interval Workout
This is your standard sprint interval workout, mixing periods of high-speed sprinting with low-intensity recovery. For beginners to sprint training, we’ll start off easy with longer periods of rest between each sprint session.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching, paying particular attention to your lower body (quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves). These are the muscles that will end up doing most of the work during the sprint training.
- Follow up with 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging to warm up your muscles and limber up your joints.
- Set your sprint speed to 8.0 MPH. Sprint for 30 seconds.
- Lower your speed to either a jog (4.5 MPH) or a walk (3.8 to 4 MPH). “Recover” at this slow speed for 90 seconds.
- Repeat the intervals—30 seconds of sprinting, followed by 90 seconds of walking/jogging—10 times, for a total of 20 minutes of training.
- Try to raise the speed of your sprint at least 0.2 MPH on every interval. By the last interval, you should be sprinting at or near 10 MPH, which is the treadmill’s top speed.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging, followed by 5-10 minutes of stretching.
Workout 2: Advanced Sprint Interval Workout
If you’re a more advanced runner or just want to increase your calories burned on the treadmill, switching up your intervals is the smart way to go.
When you spend more time sprinting and less time recovering, your body not only burns an insane amount of energy, but also adapts to training in an anaerobic state (with less oxygen available).
You’ll find you can sprint longer and faster by extending your sprint times.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching, followed by 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging.
- Set your sprint speed to whatever your “ideal” or “average” is. Sprint for 60 seconds.
- Lower the speed to your “ideal” recovery speed—be it a fast walk or slow jog. Recover for 60 seconds.
- Alternate between the 60 seconds of high-intensity and 60 seconds of low-intensity 10 to 15 times, for a total of 20 to 30 minutes.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging, followed by 5-10 minutes of stretching.
Workout 3: Hill Sprints
One of the best workouts on the treadmill for glutes and hamstrings is a hill sprint workout.
Using an incline treadmill will engage your legs’ posterior chain muscles, developing greater strength in the muscles that drive you forward with every step.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching, followed by 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging.
- Raise the incline to 5% and your running speed to 8.0 MPH (a good sprint pace). Sprint up the hill for 30 to 60 seconds (depending on your conditioning).
- Return the speed to a fast walk or slow jog, whatever feels right for you. Walk/jog at the gentle incline for 60 to 90 seconds.
- Repeat this interval three more times.
- On your 5th interval, raise the incline to 10% for your hill sprints. Repeat for another 4 intervals.
- On your 9th interval, raise the incline to 15% for your hill sprints. Try and repeat for the remainder of your hill sprint workout.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging at 0 or 1% incline, followed by 5-10 minutes of stretching.
Workout 4: Distance Workout
With this workout, you’re focused on reaching a distance goal rather than a time goal.
This is usually more practical for outdoor running, because you’ll often be running around a track, down a field, or sprinting between city blocks.
Practicing on the treadmill can help you hit that distance goal a whole lot faster.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching, followed by 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging.
- Sprint for 50 meters.
- Walk for 50 meters.
- Sprint for 100 meters.
- Walk for 100 meters.
- Sprint for 100 meters.
- Walk for 150 meters.
- Sprint for 150 meters.
- Walk for 200 meters.
- Sprint for 200 meters.
- Walk for 200 meters.
- Sprint for 250 meters.
- Sprint for 300 meters.
- Walk for 200 meters.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging, followed by 5-10 minutes of stretching.
Workout 5: Jog-Run-Sprint
This is an interesting workout that will help you to burn more calories while also increasing your cardiovascular and muscular endurance dramatically.
With other interval workouts, you typically alternate between low- and high-intensity intervals. This workout, though, adds in a mid-intensity run interval, forcing your body to work even harder before you hit that sprint.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching, followed by 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging.
- Start off with the “average” jogging pace (around 4.5 to 4.8 MPH). Maintain this speed for 60 seconds.
- Raise the speed to a faster run (around 5 to 6 MPH). Maintain this speed for 60 seconds.
- Raise the speed to a sprint (8 to 10 MPH)). Maintain this speed for 60 seconds.
- Lower the speed once more to a jog, and start the cycle all over again.
- Repeat 5 to 8 times, for a total of 15 to 24 minutes.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging, followed by 5-10 minutes of stretching.
Workout 6: Ladder Intervals
With this workout, you’re going to steadily increase your pace so you hit the fastest run speed possible in as short a time as possible.
For anyone trying to improve endurance and speed, this is a great 1-2 sprint workout you can do on the treadmill machine.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching, followed by 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging.
- Set your sprint speed to 8.0 MPH. Sprint for 45 to 60 seconds.
- Lower the treadmill speed to a jog—around 4.5 to 4.8 MPH. Jog for 60 seconds.
- Raise the sprint speed to 8.5 MPH on your next interval.
- Keep raising the speed by 0.5 MPH until you hit 10 MPH.
- Every interval after that, lower the speed by 0.2 MPH until you complete your final interval at 9.0 MPH.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging, followed by 5-10 minutes of stretching.
Workout 7: 10-10-10
This is a fun challenge for anyone who wants to mix in hill sprints with a workout specifically intended to boost their run speed. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, though, so tackle it at your own peril!
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching, followed by 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging.
- Set the incline to 10% to begin, and the running speed at around 8.5 MPH. Sprint for 30 seconds.
- Support yourself on the railings and hop off the moving belt to stand on the unmoving sides. Rest for 30 seconds.
- Jump back on and repeat the interval, though attempt to raise the speed by 0.2 to 0.5 MPH.
- Alternate between sprinting for 30 seconds and resting for 30 seconds.
- Keep raising the speed every interval until you hit 10 MPH. Your goal is to do 10 rounds at 10 MPH and 10% incline.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of walking or slow-paced jogging, followed by 5-10 minutes of stretching.
Treadmill Sprint Workouts — FAQs
What is the best kind of treadmill machine for sprinting?
Motorized treadmills are the best type of treadmill machine for sprinting. The motor makes it easy to adjust not only the run speed, but also the incline setting. That way, you can mix flat-terrain and hill sprints as desired.
However, there is something to be said about sprint training on a manual treadmill, especially curved treadmills, which have unique benefits that make them ideal for sprinting.
When your body has to provide the power source to turn the treadmill belt, it will make the workout a lot more challenging. Ultimately, though, it will translate into more effective sprinting in real-life outdoor conditions.
For more information on the differences between the two types of treadmills check out this guide on Motorized vs. Manual Treadmill Machines.
How often should I do sprint workouts on the treadmill?
Ideally, you should do a sprint workout on the treadmill no more than every 48 hours. Your body needs time to recover from the high-intensity, high-impact workout.
Giving your body those 48 hours of recovery time will decrease your risk of injury, prevent joint and muscle strain, and replenish energy depleted by your demanding workout.
The Bottom Line
Sprint training can be a LOT of fun—really, as fun as it is exhausting!
With the right treadmill workouts (like those I shared above), you can push your speed, endurance, and conditioning to the next level.
You’ll find that adding these treadmill sprint workouts into your weekly training sessions will do wonders to boost your fitness beyond anything a walk, jog, or run can ever do.
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