Welcome to another great Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up where Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama and I bring you workout ideas, motivation, inspiration and recipes to try. Join us each week by reading along, linking up and grab the button to proudly display on your blog/in your posts!
I know "treadmill" is a four letter word to some runners, but I don't mind the 'mill from time to time. In fact, I think the treadmill actually helps me improve my running and push myself more than I might if I were running outside. If the belt is moving at a quick pace, I need to pick up my legs and turn them over faster to keep up. If an incline is set, I don't have a choice but to keep moving forward.
Running at a consistent pace on the same plane can get monotonous, though, which is why I like to break a longer run up into smaller chunks and run intervals. Usually, I'll do speed intervals (picking up the pace for a certain time or distance and then slowing down for a break before picking it up again), but the other day, I decided to challenge myself with hill intervals by doing a workout I have sense dubbed The Ultimate Hill Endurance Treadmill Workout.
How to do The Ultimate Hill Endurance Treadmill Workout
Start with a simple warm up. This can be a speed walk, a jog, dynamic stretches or a mix of all three.
Now for the intervals... 17 of them. I know it sounds like a lot, but this is the Ultimate Hill Endurance Treadmill Workout, after all. It's not meant to be easy.
You'll start at the highest incline but run for the shortest amount of time. With each interval during the first half of the workout, you'll decrease your incline by 1% but increase your time running by 30 seconds. So, at 8% incline (the highest), you're running for the shortest amount of time (1 minute) and at 0% incline (the lowest), you're running for the longest amount of time (5 minutes). For the second half of the workout, you'll build you'll build your incline back up (1% at a time) and shorten your run time (30 seconds at a time) until you make your way back to that 8% incline. Rest (walk) 40 seconds between each interval.
Then it's time to cool down and stretch. PHEW!
Remember as you're running those hills to keep your torso from falling too far forward. Keep your shoulders back and lift your legs up to really power up those hills. Utilize all those muscles to power through this workout: engage your core, glutes, quads and hamstrings! The real challenge is to keep the same pace for every interval, but of course, be smart and walk if you have to.
What workouts have you been doing lately? Share them in today's Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up!
Let's Chat:
How often do you do hill training? Do you ever run hills on the treadmill?
