Doing HIIT workouts on a treadmill is a great way to avoid the tediousness of running — and they're great for breaking a sweat and burning calories.
Running on a treadmill is a great way to increase your heart rate and get an effective cardio workout. But unless you enjoy doing the same running routine over and over again, it can be a little boring, especially if you run multiple times a week.
One of the best ways to freshen up your time spent on a treadmill is to do some high-intensity interval training (HIIT) runs. HIIT workouts are filled with short bouts of intense exercise followed by shorter rest periods — think sprints followed by walks, or hill climbs followed by running on flat ground.
In addition to spicing up your running routine, research shows that doing HIIT workouts (including sprint intervals) is more beneficial for your body than moderate-intensity continuous training, and it involves shorter workouts. Just some of the major health benefits from HIIT workouts include improved VO2 max, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and cardiovascular function.
Below are five of the best HIIT treadmill workouts, as recommended by three personal trainers, each capable of giving you an effective and efficient cardio exercise in just 15 to 30 minutes.
Time required: 15-20 minutes
This sprint workout comes from personal trainer, Sophie Allen, of Train With Soph, and is comprised of 10 sets of timed sprints that scales in difficulty based on the runner's fitness level.
For instance, beginners will sprint for 20 seconds, rest for 40 seconds, then repeat, while advanced runners will sprint for 40 seconds, rest for 20, then repeat. The entire workout should take roughly 15 to 20 minutes.
Here's how to do it:
Time required: 20 minutes
This HIIT workout was designed by Brianna Joye, personal trainer and founder of the app, BOLD by Brianna Joye Fitness. It combines walking, running, uphill work, and even a few strength-training and bodyweight exercises:
Here's how to do it:
Time required: 30 minutes
This is another workout from Joye, and one that focuses heavily on incline and hill work, with a short burst of sprinting in the middle.
Although incline running is more taxing (and sweat-inducing), it's worth the effort as the benefits are many, including improved VO2 Max (i.e. your body's oxygen uptake), better speed endurance, and improved long-distance running performance.
Here's how to do it:
Time required: 25 to 35 minutes
This incline workout from Allen is a great low-impact alternative to the routine above, yet still delivers an effective cardio session.
"Try and increase your pace or incline each round, or at least match your pace/incline from
the last round," says Allen. And if you need to increase difficulty, "don't hold onto the hand rails as your incline increases."
This is also the longest workout listed, so you should be comfortable running for at least a half an hour before trying this one:
This set comes from Rachel Vaziralli, Orangetheory Director of Fitness Design and Education. If you've ever done an Orangetheory class, it's not exactly a HIIT workout but more so a heart-rate-based workout with plenty of interval training.
"A true HIIT workout requires extremely strenuous efforts followed by a lot of recovery between those efforts," says Vaziralli. "Our workouts are challenging but doable with limited recovery time."
For this routine, your goal is to maintain a challenging pace as you progress through the exercise. Each challenging section gets shorter as you go, and your companion recovery sections get longer.
Here's how to do it:
Running on a treadmill doesn't always have to be the same tedious process. You can instead change up your routine by doing a HIIT-inspired workout that's just as, if not more, effective than a normal treadmill running routine.
These kinds of workouts include everything from sprinting and incline work to strength training and bodyweight exercises, and are perfect for every fitness level from beginners to advanced runners. And all you need is anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes of time to do them.