Sweating on a treadmill can be a boring and dull experience, especially if you’re running on a program that you don’t enjoy. A great way to fight boredom is to vary the speed and incline of your treadmill. If you use the same settings on your treadmill every time you run, you’ll eventually get bored because you’ll be doing the same thing every time.
When you’re running on a treadmill, the monotony of continuous forward motion can quickly lead to boredom. That’s especially true when your goal is weight loss: if you don’t enjoy your workouts, you’re more likely to give up on them. Luckily, there are a couple of things you can do to avoid boredom while you’re on the treadmill.
7 ways to make running on a treadmill less boring
Life is full of little obstacles. Have you ever wanted to go for a run, but there’s nothing to watch on TV? Treadmill boredom is a real problem for many runners. While the machines themselves are helpful for burning excess calories, they can become monotonous and boring. Thankfully, there are ways that you can keep your mind occupied and running for a longer period of time.
While many would prefer running outside, winter is the time of year when more people run on the treadmill. For many, this is less enjoyable and more of a chore than outdoor running.
Running on a treadmill helps you stay in shape and maintain a healthy weight. If you are not making the most of your indoor workout, you are missing out.
One of the best ways to make your treadmill workout more interesting is to pay attention to your stride.
How to do it:
1. Put on some music. 2. Set the treadmill to a speed at which you could keep up a conversation if you were running with a friend. 3. Focus on using a stride that matches your music.
Vary the pace and incline
One of the easiest ways to get a fat-burning, a muscle-building workout is by increasing your pace and/or changing the incline of your treadmill. Running at a slower pace can be easier on your joints and your muscles. But running at a slower pace for too long can also start to make running a little monotonous. Varying the pace and incline of your workout can add variety to your routine.
Pay Attention to Your Stride
As anyone who has run on a treadmill for a long period of time knows, running on a treadmill can be boring. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun—you just have to pay attention to your stride and how you set up your running space.
Improve Your Stride Count
Running on a treadmill is one of the most boring things in the world. It is just you, your thoughts, and those same four walls staring at you. However, if you are a runner, it happens every day.
To make your time on the treadmill less boring, you need to be able to keep your stride count up. This will keep your mind occupied and give you something to focus on.
It’s a well-known fact that running is a great way to improve your health and fitness. Whether you’re a professional or amateur runner, it’s recommended that you run for at least 20-30 minutes per day.
For this reason, treadmills are a popular choice for people who want to run but don’t have time to go to the gym or track on a daily basis. While treadmills can be great, sometimes the monotony of the same scenery, music, and motion can get rather boring.
Alternate miles between zoning out & problem solving
Running on a treadmill is an excellent way to burn calories and improve your health, but it can be incredibly boring. Luckily, there are a few easy ways to mix things up so that your workout doesn’t feel like a chore. The first trick is to alternate periods of zoning out with periods of problem-solving.
If you just stare at the same four walls for an hour, you may find your mind wandering to all sorts of places: work, your to-do list, bills — and all the other stressors in your life. If these thoughts start to become overwhelming, this is a good time to take a break and get in some problem-solving time.
Incorporate Intervals & Pace Changes
Treadmills have a bad rep. You’re not moving, you’re stuck in one place, and who likes to run on a treadmill anyway? But, with a little extra effort, you can make the treadmill less boring and get a more challenging workout than you would on a road or track.
Incorporate interval training and pace changes to help increase your speed, distance, and improve your overall endurance
20-Minute Treadmill Workout With Hill Intervals
Anyone who has ever run on a treadmill knows that it can be a boring, monotonous experience. Give yourself a challenge and try this 20-minute treadmill workout. It uses a combination of intervals and inclines to give your body a full-body workout that will leave you feeling like you’ve really accomplished something. You can even scale the workout to increase or decrease the intensity.
Start with a quick warm-up jog, then do a continuous hill interval workout (or an uphill sprint interval workout if you prefer) that will get your heart rate up and burn more calories in less time.
This treadmill routine includes two challenging hill intervals that will help push you past your comfort zone, while still allowing you to get through your workout in 20 minutes or less and burn some calories in the process.
Last Words
Whether you’re a gym newbie (and a treadmill novice) or a seasoned runner looking for tips to stay motivated during a winter run, there are a handful of ways you can avoid boredom when you’re on a treadmill. Use the song on your playlist that you hate the most to help keep you going; challenge a friend to a friendly competition to see who can run longer, faster, or just plain better; or switch up your routine with interval training, mixing up the speed and incline settings periodically to keep your muscles guessing.
