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Indoor Running: Treadmill Training
4 Treadmill Workouts That Are Actually Fun
Running in place doesn’t have to be a snooze. Fitness experts offer a few workouts that will take your routine off autopilot
By
Ladder
This classic speed drill gradually increases the length of your interval by 1 to 2 minutes, rather than calling for a series of equal-length intervals. You’ll have some recovery time between each of your fast runs and then you’ll decrease your intervals by the same steady increments.
Track all of your runs in this free 12-week training log
Here’s one way you could structure your ladder workout:
Warm up for 1 mile
Pick up your speed for 2 minutes (Finke recommends a 10-K pace for pickups, but you can choose a pace that feels like you’re going fast without going all out.)
Slow down and recover for 2 to 3 minutes
4-minute pickup
4- to 5-minute recovery run
6-minute pickup
6- to 7-minute recovery run
Depending on your fitness level, you may want to keep increasing your intervals. But you’ll eventually want to head back down, decreasing the length of your interval times in steady increments:
6-minute pickup
6- to 7-minute recovery run
4-minute pickup
4- to 5-minute recovery run
2-minute pickup
2- to 3-minute recovery run
Cool down
“This tends to be everyone’s favorite speed workout,” Finke says. “People love increasing distance and coming back down, because after you work hard, the workout keeps getting easier. People feel very good about that.”
The recovery period should be at least as long as your pickup, Finke says. Longer recovery times train your body to produce less lactate at each speedup, and lower lactate levels can allow you to run for longer without reaching exhaustion, which can lead to better performance.
Track all of your runs in this free 12-week training log
Here’s one way you could structure your ladder workout:
Warm up for 1 mile
Pick up your speed for 2 minutes (Finke recommends a 10-K pace for pickups, but you can choose a pace that feels like you’re going fast without going all out.)
Slow down and recover for 2 to 3 minutes
4-minute pickup
4- to 5-minute recovery run
6-minute pickup
6- to 7-minute recovery run
Depending on your fitness level, you may want to keep increasing your intervals. But you’ll eventually want to head back down, decreasing the length of your interval times in steady increments:
6-minute pickup
6- to 7-minute recovery run
4-minute pickup
4- to 5-minute recovery run
2-minute pickup
2- to 3-minute recovery run
Cool down
“This tends to be everyone’s favorite speed workout,” Finke says. “People love increasing distance and coming back down, because after you work hard, the workout keeps getting easier. People feel very good about that.”
The recovery period should be at least as long as your pickup, Finke says. Longer recovery times train your body to produce less lactate at each speedup, and lower lactate levels can allow you to run for longer without reaching exhaustion, which can lead to better performance.
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