Even with an awesome, discounted ProForm treadmill, we get that it can be a bit boring to set on a treadmill to do the same thing over and over. To help shake up your workouts, here are ten treadmill exercises that can help bust through any workout boredom.
1. Alternating Side Shuffle
To target your anterior leg muscles, you can try alternating side shuffles. This treadmill exercise requires you to set your treadmill to 2 MPH—you can turn up the speed once you are comfortable with the exercise if you like—and position yourself so that you are sideways on the treadmill.
Once you are sideways, be sure to pick up your feet as you move sideways. Some people prefer a side-skipping motion, but you can discover what is easier for you.
Ramp it up – If you want to increase the difficulty of this exercise, turn up the incline level. That way, you basically side shuffle uphill and burning more calories.
2. Treadmill Arm Pull-Ups
This exercise is fairly simple. You can either use just one treadmill arm or hold onto both arms while your lower body holds you up off of the treadmill belt. After you have positioned yourself, pull up on the treadmill until you touch your chest to the treadmill arm before releasing your raised position.
Ramp it up – Do single-arm pull-ups as you grow more confident in doing this move. Or, you can put on a weighted vest to add resistance without creating an imbalance.
3. Knee Tucks
Your treadmill can act as a dip stand as you do knee tucks. Put your back to the treadmill console and suspend yourself above the deck by pushing up on the treadmill arms.
Once you are in position, raise your knees toward your chest. After they are as high as possible, release your legs so that you can lower them enough to touch the toes of your shoes to the treadmill belt, then repeat the motion.
Ramp it up – After you bring your knees up as high as possible before you move to drop them down to touch your toes to the belt, extend your legs straight out and hold for three seconds. Then bring your legs back in and touch the belt before starting the next repetition.
4. Backward Kick-Ups
Set your speed at 2-3.5 MPH, and once you are at a comfortable pace, start kicking your leg up and back. If you need help with balance and want to extend your kick, place your hands on the treadmill arms, and lean into each kick until your leg is parallel with the treadmill deck.
Ramp it up – You can add ankle weights to increase the resistance while you perform this exercise. However, if you don’t have any ankle weights, turning up the incline can help increase the difficulty.
5. Sled Push
With your treadmill completely off, brace your hands on the front-facing treadmill bar. After you are braced, push against the treadmill as your feet press against the treadmill belt. The belt will move as fast as the leg power you utilize.
However, you should be cautious about doing this exercise, as it may damage your treadmill motor. If your treadmill isn’t up to this movement, you may want to use our ProForm promo code to get a new, heavy-duty treadmill.
6. Walking Lunges
After you set your treadmill speed to 1.5-2 MPH, stand back far enough from the treadmill console and step forward with your right foot while sinking your left leg into an almost kneeling position. Don’t make contact with the moving belt, but raise back out of the lunge position and alternate which leg is leading and which leg takes the kneeling position.
Ramp it up – To add some extra oomph to your workout, grab a pair of dumbbells that are a comfortable weight for you. The increased weight will add resistance to your lunges.
7. Alternating Sumo Squats
A sumo squat is a deep, broad squat where your feet are positioned a bit further than shoulder-width apart, and you sink down until your legs make a 90-degree angle.
You can do this on a treadmill by setting the speed to 1.5-2 MPH and performing the sumo squat while standing sideways on the treadmill belt. Be sure that in-between squats that you resume an upright position, switch which side you are facing, then do your next squat.
Ramp it up – Add a few degrees of incline to your treadmill but no more than 5% so that you don’t trip as you alternate sides. You can also carry a weighted plate or dumbbells at chest level to increase the depth of your squats and resistance level.
8. Reverse Mountain Climbers
With the treadmill speed at 2 MPH, take a plank position facing away from the treadmill with your feet on the treadmill belt. As the belt moves, it will propel your feet toward your chest. Alternate lifting your feet up and kicking backward to do reverse mountain climbers.
Ramp it up – This exercise is pretty easy to increase the difficulty, as all you need to do is increase the speed. However, be careful not to turn the speed up too fast, as it can cause you to lose your balance and hurt yourself.
9. Incline Walk
Set your treadmill incline up to 10% and your speed to 2 MPH. If you can comfortably maintain that pace for 5 minutes, you can slowly increase the speed to burn calories faster. Spend 20-30 minutes walking at an incline and see how quickly you build up your leg muscles and burn fat.
Ramp it up – Treadmills will have different incline ranges available. Be sure that your treadmill at least the ability to go up to 15% incline. Then, you can do high-intensity intervals, where you alternate between incline walking, flat walking, incline running, and 0% incline running to burn calories and develop faster fitness.
10. High-Knees And Punches
Setting your speed at 3.5-4.5 MPH, bring your knees up high, at least to 90-degrees. It may lead to almost skipping, but maintain control so that you don’t bang your knee on the treadmill console. As you do this, alternate punching—mid-level punches then above the head punches.
Ramp it up – With a pair of 2-lb dumbbells in your hands, try the exercise again to shape up your arms faster. You may be surprised at how quickly it wipes you out.
Now, if you want to make the most out of these exercises, you should perform at least 1-3 sets of 10 repetitions. That way, your body can receive the full benefits.
If you are interested in bringing home an affordable, high-quality treadmill that will allow you to do all these exercises, try out our ProForm discount code. It will take 5% off of any qualifying treadmill or any other qualifying ProForm machine, so you can reach your health and fitness goals.
