The Best Workouts To Try If You Love The Treadmill

Ah, the treadmill — a creation that made bad weather no excuse to not go for a run. The machine is a popular choice for cardio and is a staple at most gyms. While the treadmill may appear like a one-trick pony to some, there are loads of ways to maximize the use of this piece of exercise equipment. Here are a few ways to vamp up your routine while on a treadmill.

Lunges are a classic workout move that can be just as effective on the treadmill. Maybe even more so, seeing as there is guaranteed to be no obstacles standing in your way. Women's Health explains the best way to incorporate lunges into your treadmill regime. Start by standing on the treadmill set at a low speed. Clasp your hands together and step forward with your right leg and lower yourself until your knee is bent at a 90-degree angle. Rise back up and repeat with your left leg. For even more of a burn, use the treadmill's incline function.

If you love to sweat, try 30-second sprint intervals on the treadmill. Verywell fit suggests a routine by starting to walk for one minute. Then increase the speed to an easy jog for five minutes. After warming up, pick up the pace to a 30-second sprint, and recover with 90 seconds of easy jogging. Continue to do these intervals at least nine more times. Before hopping off, finish with a cool down at an easy pace. 

Besides the variations enjoyed by using different speeds, there are other benefits to sprint interval training. Laura Norris, an RRCA-certified running coach in Northwestern Indiana, shares with Shape, "When you do sprints, you're teaching your body to run very fast, and that trains your brain to communicate more quickly with your muscles. So when you're running at an easy pace, which most runners do for a majority of their runs, you're more efficient."

The next time you're running on the treadmill, think about climbing a pyramid for extra motivation. Verywell fit claims the calorie-blasting pyramid workout is a great way to add variety in your muscle movements. Start with a 30-second run followed by a 30-second walk. Increase your medium running time by one minute of running each round, with one minute of walking in between, until you reach four minutes of running. After you have run for four minutes, decrease your time at the same intervals you used to get to the peak of your sweat session. Not only can this routine be highly motivating, The Wired Runner claims the pyramid workout is a great way to get fast and work on your endurance.

So if you ever find yourself feeling bored at the gym and eyeing the treadmill, just think of variety as the spice of life and consider these new routines to try.