Make Your Boring Treadmill Routine Come Alive

Make Your Boring Treadmill Routine Come Alive

Don’t let these negative thoughts hold you back from your fitness goals, or even stop you from going to the gym entirely.  Instead of letting the same old boring treadmill routine dampen your mood each day, why not switch it up for a change?  There are plenty of great ideas for making your run or jog on the treadmill more interesting, challenging, and fun!

Kill Time:  Do you constantly find yourself checking the minutes you’ve logged, counting down until you can finally get off, and hit the shower?  If that’s the case, think about covering up your treadmill readout console.  When you can’t see the clock or the distance you’ve traveled, your brain will start to react differently to what you’re doing.  And if you can’t go your whole workout this way, try it for just a few minutes at a time with your towel.  Chances are you’ll enjoy the experience.

Go All Out:  Running intervals on treadmills can be a great way to break up the routine and get in shape fast.  All you have to do is bump up your speed to your near max for 15-30 seconds, or maybe even longer if you’re in great shape already.  Run as fast as you can, then quickly lower the speed back down to a slow walking pace for a minute or less.  Repeat this 5-6 times and you certainly won’t be thinking about how bored you used to be.

Cancel Commercials: If you enjoy watching the Telly when you work out on the treadmill, think about switching it up during the commercial breaks, and I’m not talking about changing the channel.  Try raising your incline level or increasing your speed for the entire break.  When your regular program comes back on you’ll be ready for a rest, and excited about the next commercial break for a change.

Race ‘em:  Choose someone in the gym, anyone.  Maybe it’s the guy walking slower than a turtle to the drinking fountain.  Perhaps it’s the girl that takes forever on the leg machine.  Or maybe it’s Yellow Shirt who you see on Machine 3 each Tuesday.  Whoever it is, race them, whether it’s by boosting your speed or outdoing them on time.  See if you can go 50m in the time it takes Mr. Slow to get a drink.  Can you do a complete circuit before ‘Leg Machine’ can do a complete set?  And will this finally be the day ‘Yellow Shirt’ hits the showers first?  Racing someone is sure to break the monotony out of any routine.