Looking to blast a killer workout on the treadmill in 30 minutes or less? Here is a look at our favorite 30-minute treadmill workouts for beginners, burning fat, HIIT, and more.
- Why the Treadmill Machine Rocks for 30-Minute Workouts
- 30-Minute Treadmill Workouts
- 30-Minute Treadmill Workouts – FAQs
- The Bottom Line
It’s no great secret that I’m a huge fan of treadmill workouts for losing weight and burning fat!
The treadmill is a machine I’ll use pretty much daily because not only is it an epic cardio workout, but it’s also one of the most functional workouts I can do (even more than lifting weights, in fact).
But that’s just the beginning of what makes the treadmill so great…
Below, I’m going to take you on a deep-dive into the benefits of treadmill walking, running, and HIIT training, and explain why I’m a firm believer that it’s one of the best cardio machines for burning calories.
Then, I’ll take the time to share with you some of my all-time favorite treadmill workouts that you can knock out in just 30 minutes.
By the end of this post, you’ll be ready to start burning calories on the treadmill and taking every workout to the next level.
Let’s get started.
Why the Treadmill Machine Rocks for 30-Minute Workouts
Before we dive into my favorite 30-minute treadmill workouts, it’s worth going over why the treadmill is an excellent choice for workouts in the half-hour range.
While there are plenty of benefits of the treadmill, these are the main reasons you should incorporate it into your 30-minute training sessions:
Functional Fitness
Probably my favorite reason to work out on the treadmill (vs. machines like the elliptical machine or rowing machine) is that the time I spend on the treadmill translates into more effective movement and activity everywhere.
Think about it: you walk all day long, and you run a whole lot more often (when playing sports, chasing your kids/pets, etc.) than you would, say, ride a bike or row a boat.
That means the time you spend training on the treadmill will make you a fitter person and better athlete overall compared to literally every other cardio machine in the gym.
I don’t know about you, but I like to focus on the workouts that have the widest possible range of benefits with the least amount of time invested!
Burn Major Calories
Calorie-burning is one of the best indicators of just how effective a particular workout is for you.
After all, it’s pretty simple: the more calories you burn, the harder your body is working. More calories expended = more fat eliminated = healthier you.
Few machines can burn quite the same number of calories as the treadmill!
When you walk (at, say, 3.5 MPH), you don’t burn a ton of calories [1]:
- A 125-pound person will burn 107 calories in 30 minutes
- A 155-pound person will burn 133 calories in 30 minutes
- A 185-pound person will burn 159 calories in 30 minutes
But if you pick up the pace, the calorie-burning starts to increase.
For example, if you push to a “run” pace of around 5 MPH:
- A 125-pound person will burn 240 calories in 30 minutes
- A 155-pound person will burn 288 calories in 30 minutes
- A 185-pound person will burn 336 calories in 30 minutes
If you’re really training hard, working at a near-sprint pace of 7.5 MPH:
- A 125-pound person will burn 375 calories in 30 minutes
- A 155-pound person will burn 450 calories in 30 minutes
- A 185-pound person will burn 525 calories in 30 minutes
Compare that to other workouts, and you’ll see why the treadmill is one of the best calorie-burners around:
- A 125-pound person will burn 270 calories in 30 minutes of general elliptical training
- A 155-pound person will burn 369 calories in 30 minutes of vigorous stationary rowing
- A 185-pound person will burn 441 calories in 30 minutes of vigorous stationary cycling
Boost Your Cardiovascular System
Running is good for your cardiovascular system, period.
When you run, your lungs have to absorb more oxygen, your heart has to beat faster and pump harder, and your blood vessels have to dilate to allow the oxygenated blood to reach the hard-working muscles.
The result: a more effectively functioning cardiovascular system overall.
While all cardio workouts improve cardiovascular function, none are quite as effective as running—especially if you push the pace to a fast run or sprint intervals.
Improve Your Balance, Posture, and Movement
Running is a n excellent way to improve your coordination, balance, and posture.
When you run, you have to pay attention to every aspect of your movement: from the angle of your head to the position of your upper body to the swing of your arms to the bend of your knees to the way your feet strike the ground.
The more attentive to and aware of your balance and posture you are when running, the more you become attentive to/aware of your balance and posture across every other activity.
Running creates a proprioception (awareness of your body) that translates into more efficient, coordinated movement.
And, of course, the more you move, the easier it is for your joints to move along with your level of activity.
Running does wonders to strengthen your muscles, harden your bones, and facilitate smoother, more fluid-moving joints in every single activity.
Enhance Brain Function
This is one of the lesser-known—but most valuable—benefits of treadmill workouts, and pretty much any running workout you do.
When you run, you increase blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, one of the critical brain areas responsible for your overall cognition and brain function. It also increases the production of crucial neurotransmitters (like serotonin and dopamine), and releases feel-good chemicals that elevate your mood and combat depression and anxiety.
As if that’s not already awesome enough, running is also amazing for your concentration, memory, attention, planning, impulse control, and ability to organize.
There’s even a minor self-hypnotic effect that will help you to “clear your mind” so you can push aside all the worries and cares plaguing you.
Within just 5-10 minutes of running, your brain function will improve and you’ll feel so much better!
At-Home Cardio Workout
Last, but definitely not least, there’s the benefit of being able to do a truly kickass workout from the comfort of your own home.
With a treadmill workout, you can get in your cardio daily without having to drive or even step foot outside your house. This can be absolutely essential for any number of reasons—for example, if you live in an area with very steep hills, there is a lot of rain, or it’s too cold (or hot) to run outdoors.
Being able to work out in the comfort of your home just makes it that much easier to actually get the work in. And trust me, given how easy it is to skip your daily workout in favor of literally anything else (especially anything that requires less effort), it’s imperative that you remove any obstacles or excuses that could give you an “out”.
Pretty clear in my mind why the treadmill is among the best of the cardio machines. Hopefully, the benefits above made it clear for you, too!
30-Minute Treadmill Workouts
Time to dive in and get working out.
Don’t worry if you don’t have endless hours to spend at the gym.
These workouts will take just 30 minutes of your time (not always counting your stretching/warm-ups). They’re the perfect solution for the busy professional or time-strapped parent who only has a little bit of time but still wants to make the most of their training.
Best of all, there’s a workout below for every fitness level—everyone from total newbies to experienced athletes.
Workout #1: Newbie Training
Don’t worry if you’ve never stepped foot onto a treadmill machine before!
This workout will be newbie-friendly, but still tough enough to get your heart pumping and blood flowing.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching to limber up your body, followed by 5 minutes of “light” walking (3.2 to 3.5 MPH).
- For the first 5 minutes of your treadmill workout, pick up the pace until you’re moving at a fast walk—anywhere between 3.8 and 4.0 MPH will suffice to get you in the condition to jog a bit.
- Try to spend the next 5-15 minutes jogging. Set the treadmill for 4.2 to 4.7 MPH, whatever feels best for your run. The goal should be to go the full 15 minutes, but if you’re feeling tired and breathing too hard, allow yourself to slow down.
- Spend the last 5-10 minutes of your workout walking at 4.0 to 4.2 MPH. If you can push a bit faster to jog, good for you. If not, a fast walk will be enough to get you sweating and burn some fat!
- Cool down with 5-10 minutes of walking and stretching.
Workout #2: Walk, Jog, Run
Once you’ve done a few treadmill workouts and started getting the hang of things, it’s time to push yourself a bit harder and move faster. After all, as you saw above, the real calorie-burning only kicks in when you push past a walk or jog to a run.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching to limber up your body, followed by 5 minutes of “light” walking (3.2 to 3.5 MPH).
- Set the treadmill to a fast walking pace (around 3.8 MPH) for 60 seconds.
- Push the treadmill to a jogging pace (around 4.5 MPH) for 60 seconds.
- Raise the speed even higher to a running pace (5 to 6 MPH) for 60 seconds.
- Slow down to a moderate walk (3.5 MPH) for 60 seconds to actively recover.
- Repeat this cycle 5-7 times, for a total of 20-28 minutes of walking, jogging, and running.
- Cool down with 5-10 minutes of walking and stretching.
Workout #3: LISS Fat-Burner
Your body’s fat-burning mechanisms only really fire up after about 10 minutes of sustained exertion.
This low-intensity, steady state (LISS) workout will help you to torch some serious fat while still pushing your cardiovascular fitness.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching to limber up your body, followed by 5 minutes of “light” walking (3.2 to 3.5 MPH).
- Set the treadmill to a steady jog pace, around 4.5 MPH (though raise it 0.1 or 0.2 MPH if you can). Maintain that pace for the full 30 minutes.
- Cool down with 5-10 minutes of walking and stretching.
Workout #4: HIIT Calorie Blaster
If you’re all about burning the maximum number of calories in the shortest amount of time, this 20-minute HIIT workout is just for you!
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching to limber up your body, followed by 5 minutes of “light” walking (3.2 to 3.5 MPH).
- Raise the speed to a sprint (usually around 8 MPH is a good place to start) and sprint for 30 seconds.
- Lower the speed to a more relaxed pace, anything between a fast walk and a moderate jog (3.8 to 4.5 MPH). Hold this speed for 90-120 seconds. (Trainer’s Note: The fitter you are, the shorter your recovery periods should be.)
- Raise the speed to a sprint again. Try raising it to 8.2 MPH this time.
- Recover for 90 to 120 seconds at a walk or jog.
- Continue alternating between sprint speed and “recovery” walk or jog for 20 minutes. Try to raise the sprint speed by at least 0.2 MPH each time. Your goal should be to make your last runs at anywhere between 9.5 and 10 MPH (top speed) to really max out the calorie burning.
- Cool down with 5-10 minutes of walking and stretching.
Workout #5: Glute-Busting Run
Time to target those buns, hun!
Adding incline on the treadmill is an amazing way to focus more on your glutes and hamstrings, but it will also demand more effort of your body, so it’ll lead to greater calorie-burning, too.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching to limber up your body, followed by 5 minutes of “light” walking (3.2 to 3.5 MPH) at a flat incline.
- Raise your speed to a moderate jogging pace (around 4.5 MPH). Set the incline to 5%. Maintain that pace for 5 minutes.
- Raise the incline to 10% for the next 5 minutes.
- Raise the incline to 15% for the next 5 minutes.
- Lower the incline to 10% for the next 5 minutes.
- Lower the incline to 5% for the next 5 minutes.
- Cool down with 5-10 minutes of walking and stretching.
Using an incline treadmill is a great way to really maximize your time on the cardio machine.
Research 2 has shown that by increasing the incline to 7% people can burn up to an extra 51% of calories, making incline a no-brainer for short and intense workouts on the treadmill.
Workout #6: Endurance Workout
Finally, we’ve got a workout that will do amazing things to build your cardiovascular (and muscular) endurance.
Get ready to push yourself harder than you ever have before with this hardcore, expert-level ladder workout!
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of stretching to limber up your body, followed by 5 minutes of “light” walking (3.2 to 3.5 MPH).
- Raise the speed to a jog (4.5 MPH) and maintain the pace for 60 seconds.
- Raise the speed by 0.2 MPH for the next 60 seconds.
- Keep raising the speed by 0.2 MPH every minute on the minute until you’re running as fast as you can (usually between 6 and 7 MPH).
- Every minute on the minute, lower the speed by 0.2 MPH until you’re once more at your starting jog speed.
- Cool down with 5-10 minutes of walking and stretching.
30-Minute Treadmill Workouts – FAQs
How many calories does a 30-minute treadmill workout burn?
The number of calories you can burn in a 30-minute treadmill workout will depend largely on how fast you run.
For example, according to Harvard Medical School, in 30 minutes, a 155-pound person can burn:
- 133 calories at a slow walk (3.5 MPH)
- 175 calories at a fast walk (4 MPH)
- 216 calories at a jog (around 4.5 MPH)
- 288 calories at a slow run (5 MPH)
- 360 calories at a faster run (6 MPH)
- 450 calories at a very fast run (7.5 MPH)
- 562 calories at a top-speed run (10 MPH)
All you’ve got to do to increase your calorie-burn is simply to run faster and/or increase the incline on the treadmill.
Is 30 minutes on the treadmill a good workout?
If you’re just walking or jogging at a steady pace, 30 minutes is far from enough to really see proper calorie-burning.
For low-intensity and steady-state exercise, you want to work at least 45 to 60 minutes—longer, if you’re walking.
But for a fast-paced run or HIIT training, 30 minutes is definitely enough to both burn adequate calories and boost your cardiovascular conditioning.
The Bottom Line
As you’ve seen above, treadmill workouts can be amazing for your health and they don’t require hours and hours in the gym to see results.
They’re incredibly functional, burn lots of calories, improve your cardiovascular and cognitive function, and are great for your movement and coordination overall.
As if that’s not enough, they’re also wonderfully easy to do at any time because you’ve got a treadmill in your home, rain or shine.
Hopefully, the workouts above give you somewhere to get started no matter your fitness level.
With regular effort, you’ll see real improvement, calorie-burning, and likely even weight loss.
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