How To Actually Have Fun Training On A Treadmill (3 Workouts Included)

I can't think of anything less appealing than going to the gym, stepping on the Treadmill (or Dreadmill as some call it), and running for 30+ minutes at a steady pace. You never get anywhere new and the scenery never changes!

But there is GOOD NEWS! There several reasons why people hate the Treadmill. We'll talk about 3 of those reasons, but we'll also talk about how you can beat those hurdles and how to actually have fun training on a treadmill. I've also included 3 different workouts you can do on the Treadmill that will make you a better athlete for OCR!

REASON 1: The Treadmill is boring because of the monotony of it. It's so stinkin' repetitive...especially the way most people use it! The best way to get around this is to add variety! WE NEED THE INCLINE TO CHANGE! WE NEED THE SPEED TO CHANGE! WE NEED TO GO FASTER AND SLOWER AND UPHILL! With varying inclines, you get to train for hills and increase your glute, quad, and calf strength at the same time! Cycling through incline changes is also a great way to mimic what happens at most OCRs...incline change. Increasing and decreasing the speed as you go is also a great way to mimic races; faster on the flat, slower up the incline. Add moments of "break-neck" speed to replicate that final push at the end to beat the athletes across the finish line!

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Once you've finished this article, you'll see that we have many different, creative ways to make essential training FUN. We coach athletes just like you for Obstacle Course Racing, and we'd love to help you reach your goals in this sport! View our OCR Training Programs and Sign Up Today.

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Here's the "Beat The Monotony" workout:

*There will be transitional time. That's totally fine!*

Jog at 4.7mph for 5 minutes at 0% incline (warmup)

Run at 6mph for 3 minutes at 4% incline

Walk at 3.5mph for 3 minutes at 12% incline

Run at 7mph for 4 minutes at 0% incline

Jog at 5mph for 6 minutes at 8% incline

Sprint at 9mph for 1 minute at 0% incline

Walk at 3mph for 4 minutes at 0% incline (cool down)

REASON 2: Treadmills suck for most of us because the scenery just stays the same. We want things to change up! That's easily taken care of. We just need to get a little creative!

Here's the "Change Of Scenery" workout:

*There will be transitional moments. Don't worry about it!*

Walk at 4mph for 3 minutes (warmup)

Run at 6.7mph for 6 minutes

10 Burpees

40 Jumping Jacks

Run at 6.5mph for 5 minutes

5 Pullups

10 Pushups

10 Jump Squats

Run at 6.3mph for 4 minutes

20 Mountain Climbers

15 Lunges

Run at 7mph for 3 minutes

15 Burpees

20 Air Squats

Walk at 3mph for 4 minutes (cool down)

REASON 3: The FINAL reason why you hate the treadmill and it's so BORING is because you are always either just walking or running. That's it. Your hands don't really do anything. We'll fix that with this third workout! The following workout is also great for building more grip endurance, lower body endurance, and core strength.

Here's the "Use Your Hands Too" workout:

*Be very careful when making transitions...don't drop a weight* *KB = Kettlebell*

Walk at 3mph on an 8% incline with a 10lb KB in each hand for 4 minutes

Walk at 3.5mph on a 2% incline with a 10lb KB in each hand for 4 minutes

Walk at 2.5mph on a 15% incline with a 10lb KB in each hand for 4 minutes

Walk at 3.5mph on a 0% incline with a 10lb KB in ONE hand for 2 minutes each hand

Walk at 3mph on a 10% incline with a 10lb KB in each hand for 4 minutes

Walk at 3mph on a 0% incline with a 10lb KB in each hand in the front rack position for 4 minutes.

Double Kettlebell Front Rack Position

NO MORE BORING TREADMILL WORKOUTS! We did it! Let us know if this helps you spice up your training and helps you improve. We're all about the improvement, and making training more fun is a massive plus!