If we talk about cardiovascular exercise using a treadmill in a gym, surely many of you may think that it is something boring and an exercise in which there is only one way to do it: get on the treadmill, set the speed and start running during the minutes that we want to work our cardiovascular resistance.

However, talking about treadmills does not mean that we have to face a boring exercise. There are different variants and alternatives on a treadmill that we can use to make our training something enjoyable and even fun. Oh, and if you think running today is going to make up for the binge you gave yesterday, we’re sorry to say you’re very wrong.

How to add variety to our training on the treadmill

As a starting point, there are two variants with which we can work and add difficulty and entertainment when we talk about cardiovascular training on a treadmill: speed and incline .

Using these variables, we can incorporate some of the following exercises into our routine to avoid boredom and invigorate our work .

Strides forward on tape

In this exercise, if we play with the speed of the tape, we will be forced to perform the strides more quickly , while if the factor we are changing is the inclination, we would work more with the strength aspect of our lower train.

Striking backwards

Another option that we can use to not get bored on the tape is to make inverse or backward strides , in such a way that we would place our backs to the control panel of the tape, adjust the speed and we would put on it to start performing strides backwards.

Plyometric squats on treadmill

Again we have the opportunity to configure the speed and inclination to our liking, always within values ​​that allow us to work safely and avoiding injuries. The exercise is simple: perform a squat in such a way that when climbing, we give a small jump up. Obviously, we can not perform a leg opening greater than the width of the tape.

Side strides

Exercise similar to the first of the described, although here we will be able to work with a slightly higher speed, even getting to perform the classic lateral strides with a small jump, so that we increase a little more the speed of movement .

Run backwards

An exercise that is putting itself in the last fashionable times is the ” retro running”, which commonly we could denominate like ” running of backs “. For this, we only have to select the speed and inclination and start with the exercise.

Vs TV tape

In this exercise we can make “use” of televisions (no, we are not going to tell you to sit down to watch TV on a tape in the middle of the gym) that nowadays have almost all gyms, so that during the broadcast of the program / film / series that they are broadcasting, let’s start running on the tape and during the advertising breaks we will do another exercise outside the tape: push-ups, abdominal plates, burpees …

Interval work

In this modality, the exercise to be performed will be developed by making changes both in speed and inclination in periods of one minute. Within this variant we would find all the HIIT routines that we can imagine on a treadmill. Let’s suppose the following routine example:

  • Minute one: we started jogging at a comfortable speed of nine km / h (for example) and a zero inclination. This is about taking as a reference a starting speed that allows us to make a comfortable and smooth trot that does not involve effort, since we will make changes in speed and incline and there we will increase the difficulty.
  • Minute two: we lower the speed to seven km / h but increase the tilt to two.
  • Minute three: we reduce the inclination to one but increase the speed to ten km / h.

And so, succinctly, we can go through periods of minute by minute playing with speed and incline. In this case, and given that the exercise can be really exhausting if we apply a high intensity , the routines should not last more than 20 or 30 minutes at the most . A clear example of this would be the routines type HIIT or Tabata .

Increasing the difficulty: variations in the treadmill for advanced users

For those who have an optimal physical condition and want to look for new challenges , we will propose a series of exercises that we can perform using a treadmill (and in some cases it will not necessarily mean that we have to run).