Crush Your Treadmill Time

No more flatlining on indoor runs. Use these tricks to re-energize your strides.

- Sara Angle

Use all the buttons

Take advantage of the machine’s speed and incline range, and you’ll boost your burn, strength, and interest. First, alternate sprinting (from 10 to 90 seconds each set) with jogging (sets can be equal to or shorter than your pushes) for 15 minutes. Then set the incline to 10 percent and find a slightly uncomfortable pace. Drop the incline by 1 percent every 30 seconds until you’re on a flat road. Go again but faster. Pushing your pace melts more fat and increases your cardio capacity, while climbs build your power—a mix that makes you leaner, faster, and stronger, says Rebecca Skudder, founder of MyStryde treadmill running studio in Boston.

Create a solo “class”

Channel the adrenaline of a group running class with a well-thought-out playlist, says Harley Rodriguez, a trainer at Barry’s Bootcamp, which alternates treadmill segments with strength sets. Use music to time your intervals, choosing songs with up-tempo choruses that get you pumped to pick up your pace with each refrain. “In your head, say: I’m doing a 30-second sprint in four, three, two, one—then give it your all,” Rodriguez says. If you’re spurred by the competitive spirit of a group class, hop on a treadmill next to someone who looks like a strong runner. You can race them by setting your pace to something higher than theirs— they’ll never need to know!

Go in with a strategy