Fun Fitness Treadmill Routines

Is your fitness treadmill routine getting old? That's not surprising. After all, it's been awhile since you made your New Year's Resolution to get fit, or stay fit, this year. You've probably lost a few pounds and upped your fitness level, so give yourself credit where credit is due. But everyone gets bored doing the same thing day after day, and a treadmill workout is one where it gets easy to do the same routine every day, which is the death knell of any fitness program.

Try these fun fitness treadmill routines to add new life to your old workout.

Interval Training

With interval training, you exercise at a very high intensity level for a short period of time, then drop back to your normal level, and then go back to the high level before you fully recover. To implement interval training, warm up with a walk for a few minutes. Then, if you normally walk three miles an hour, increase the belt speed to 4 mph for 60 seconds. At the end of the fast minute, decrease the belt speed to 3.5 mph. Although 3.5 mph is faster than your normal speed, it will seem fairly slow relative to the 4 mph pace at which you were just working out.

After one to two minutes at 3.5 mph, increase the speed again to 4mph. Continue to alternate between the fast and faster speeds until you have about five minutes left in your fitness treadmill workout. Then you can decrease the belt speed to a jog or walk and use your last five minutes to cool down.

Musical Workout

If you are not already working out with music or an mp3 player, you are missing an important element of fun with your workout. You need not pay hundreds of dollars for an iPod; a simple mp3 player with headphones costs under $50, and you can get a free trial of napster or itunes and import your favorite songs from CDs you already own to get started on your music collection.

As your mp3 player plays your favorite songs, you will find yourself energized to the max. Adjust the speed of the belt to match the tempo of the song, and your fitness treadmill workout will feel like a fun dance routine. If a song is too slow, adjust the incline of the treadmill so you are taking slower steps but climbing uphill. For faster songs, drop the incline to 0 percent and walk or run as fast as you can. Most songs last three or four minutes, and you should be able to keep up a faster pace for that amount of time.

Use these fun fitness treadmill workouts to add variety to your fitness routine. You will find yourself looking forward to your time on the treadmill again.