Became Your Own Treadmill Trainer

Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
myTreadmillTrainer.com

It isn’t often that we come up with the idea to become our own trainer in any athletic endeavor. Believe it or not, you can become your own trainer - which puts the ball in your court and gives you the power to control your own workout.

Running on a treadmill offers a perfect chance to do this for yourself. Below I’ve given you a brief guide on how to be your own treadmill trainer, with advice for your program or routine tailored to what you need to do to meet your goals.

Suggested Treadmill Routines By Goal

There are a ton of reasons why people want to run to get in shape. Some do it for the fitness. Some do it for competition. Some do it for weight loss. And some do it so that they look good for that cute new person in the office before asking them out on a date.
(Hey, we all have our reasons.)

I have put together generic routines that you can then tweak with your own specific capabilities and needs. These assume that you are relatively new to running.

Running For Weight Loss

The key to running for weight loss is to get your heart rate up nice and high consistently. This will turn up your calorie-burning furnace. Try this routine:

Run for 30 minutes at a time at a moderate pace, three time a week
On the days in between the 30-minute runs, run intervals. Start out on the treadmill by running a moderate pace for 2 minutes. Then, turn up the pace by about 25% (i.e. if you run an 8-minute mile pace, you will now run a 6-minute mile pace) for one minute. Take it back down for 2 more minutes. Repeat this cycle for 30 minutes.

Running For Fitness

This routine is if you just want to maintain your current level of fitness and stay in shape.

Run for 30 minutes, three times a week, with one day of rest in between.
On the last day each week, instead of running 30 minutes, try to go for 45 minutes at a slightly-slower pace. This will give you more endurance.

Running For Competition

Warm up, then run a mile as fast as you can. This is your maximum mile pace.
Three times a week, take a medium-length run of 3-4 miles per day, depending on your fitness level. Run this at 125% (i.e. multiply, say, 6:00 by 1.25 to get 7:30 per mile).
On the in-between days, run mile repeats. Run a mile as quick as you can, and rest for 60 seconds. Turn up the incline on the treadmill by 2-3 degrees, and run another mile repeat. Rest for 90 seconds. Run a third mile repeat on a flat incline.
On the sixth day of the week, take a nice, relaxing long run of 5-6 miles, for increased stamina.

Again, feel free to change run times and run lengths depending on your level. Remember, you are your own treadmill trainer.

=> CLICK HERE to get started with the Treadmill Trainer running workouts!

Try the Treadmill Trainer™ Workouts for FREE