Balls to the Walls Treadmill Workout: Progressive Run

Hello interwebz friends- are you ready to go Balls to the Walls? Wanna kick your own butt at the gym? If so, continue reading.

I love this quote. Total inspiration for a hard workout and to call yourself out when you aren’t giving things your all. Enough said.

Is winter still dragging where you live? Here in the Midwest, it has been exceptionally warm for this time of year. Luckily I have been able to get outside to run a little bit more than usual. That being said, I do enjoy a good treadmill run. I know, call me crazy. A runner that actually enjoys the treadmill. It can be easy to just jump on the treadmill and run at the same pace for an hour and hop off. I get pretty bored running at the same pace, and have found that my legs actually seem to fatigue faster when I run at the same pace. My favorite type of run to do on the treadmill is a progressive run. I love warming up at a decent pace, and then cranking the speed up during the second half of my workout. This workout also can test your mental strength while running, and will help you get that negative split in your races!

Negativing splitting (aka running the second half of a run/ race faster that the first half) can be difficult at times, especially if you are feeling really fresh at the beginning of a race. I have learned that dialing it back at the beginning, and saving some energy for later can be super beneficial. This is something that has taken me a few years to figure out, but I think i finally have it down. This treadmill workout will definitely get you there!

The speeds that I use are probably for more intermediate/ advanced runner, but just adjust the speeds to your pace/ abilities. This workout is meant to be challenging, so make sure to push yourself!

Here is the workout:

The beginning of this workout starts as a warm up running at a slower pace for about 10 minutes, and ends with the same 10 minute cool down. I have learned that warming up with a slower pace and cooling down helps a ton with recovery and ability to run longer. Between 10 and 30 minutes, you slowly increase you speed and start to work a bit harder. From 30-40 minutes you are cranking up your speed about .2 miles per hour every two minutes. I have found 2 minutes to be the best amount of time for me to adjust to the pace and get ready to speed it up even more. After 40 minutes, cool down for about 10 minutes with a slower running pace. After 50 minutes, you can continue running, or cool down even more by walking on an incline. I always cool down for at least 5 minutes with incline walking.

If you are newer to running, you can start off this workout with walking at the beginning and work your way up to faster speeds. If you are more advanced and want to sweat even more, keep raising the speed after you hit to 40 minute mark by .1-.2 mph every 1-2 minutes until you can’t go any faster. This workout in a nutshell: begin with slower speeds, slowly increase, go balls to the walls for 10 minutes, and cool down.

Let me know in the comments what your favorite treadmill workout is. Do you prefer to run outside or on the treadmill? How cold does it have to be outside for you to ditch the outdoors and hop on a treadmill??