My top 10 tips for maximizing your workout on a treadmill!

Good morning, everyone!

Today I want to share with you my top 10 tips to get the MOST out of your treadmill workout! Now if you are like me, you do not like to waste time doing anything. If working out is not going to get results, then why do it, right? This post is about getting the most shred for your strut, given whatever time you can make available to work out.


Enjoy! :-)



1) If you are starting out, do not add intensity and time to your treadmill workout all at once, as this can lead to injury. Instead, gradually add time to your workout first, and then add intensity (a.k.a. speed or incline) later!

2) To improve the strength of your heart, incorporate interval training! :-) You can do this by alternating the speed and/or adding percentages of incline in intervals during your treadmill workout. *I like to increase my speed until I am doing a fast jog (around 5.5 mph), and then bring my speed down and push my incline up to 12%!

3) Use a TV to help you with your workout by working harder every time a commercial comes on! *I like to walk at a fast pace, and then run during every commercial break. :-)

4) Use the incline on your treadmill to tone your muscles! Set your treadmill on an incline that your current physical fitness can handle, but that is still slightly uncomfortable. Increase the incline from that point every 3 minutes, and then decrease it back to your starting incline. Move your arms, tighten your abs, do this for 20 minutes+, and say hello to a toned new body!

5) Ignore all of the settings on your treadmill when it comes to fat burn. The longer and farther (distance) you go, the more total fat you will burn on your treadmill. The ideal time to spend to send your body into a steady fat burn is 45 minutes- but if you can only make time for 30 minutes, it is better than nothing! :-)

6) Set your treadmill at 1% incline if you want to get the same workout as working on a flat surface.

7) Add 5 minutes to your treadmill session every week to avoid plateauing! Rather than doing 20 minutes every time you go, increase your time weekly, and you will strengthen your cardiac (heart) muscle, amp your results, and increase your body's ability to endure stress.

8) To make transitioning into running easier, start out on an incline on your treadmill, and lower down to a flat position every time you are about to run. Doing this will help you feel & become stronger, and in return, you will be able to run faster! :-)

9) Tone your arms while you are on the treadmill by carrying 3-5 lb. weights while you jog!

10) Instead of using your Ipod to zone out and consequently lower the intensity of your workout, use your Ipod to increase it! Every time a new song comes on, increase your speed by 2 mph, and then lower it back to your initial speed in intervals.

Have a great day!

Xo -Jess