Five Tricks to the Treadmill

As much as I hate to admit it it's true, I am the ultimate fair weather runner. The second it gets a little rainy or cool I pack in and take my run indoors. The bonus is I do LOVE treadmill running. It took some time to get used to running like a hamster but now I almost prefer it to the real thing!

There are a few tricks that made treadmill running more enjoyable for me:

1. Mix it up! Do some circuit training – run for 5 minutes and then hop off and do a burpee/push-up set and hop back on and sprint until the next set! Keeping your body guessing is the key to a great training program.

2. Run intervals. Rarely do I run for more than 30 minutes on a treadmill. Try this workout to spice things up a bit!

3. Tryout "barefoot" shoes. Treadmill running is the perfect place to test new gear – especially footwear. The flat and predictable surface will give your body a chance to adjust before taking it outside.

4. Watch the Food Network – or whatever you want! Matt jokes that I'm the only person who thinks about food in the middle of an all out interval sprint and not want to throw up! It's a great way to make the time fly by! BUT don't read a book or magazine – if you can read while you're working out then you're not working out!

5. Run with a friend! The beauty of treadmill running is you don't have to run at the exact same pace as the person you are with. It's great to get competitive with a friend on intervals but it's also just nice to jog and chat beside them at your own set pace.

So hop on a treadmill near you soon, they're not as scary as you might think!