My New Favorite

A few weeks ago I was at the gym during a new treadmill class they started. I wasn’t in the class, but of course I listened to what workout they were doing and what the instructor was saying. I was interested to see how the class went. That day they did a 1/2 mile warm up, 4 mile interval workout, and 1/2 mile cool down. Since they I have added it to my workouts, and I love it!

Here is the lowdown:

warm-up: You can choose how to warm up. I usually start with a brisk walk and take it to a very light jog just to get blood flowing. You could also just do some jumping jacks, jump rope, or an incline walk.

intervals: I chose to do the 4 miles like the instructor did, but you can make it as short or as long as you’d like. You do a mile with 3 intervals, and then repeat until you’d like to stop. The first .5 miles is done at your “dream pace”. You are pushing yourself a little, but keep it in range of a 5k or 10k pace. It shouldn’t be easy, but you should be able to maintain it. The next .25 miles is a sprint. You want to be breathing heavy and pushing yourself. The final .25 miles is a bit of a cool down/easy jog. You can choose to walk this part if you’d like, or just take it slowly. Then, repeat! Here is an example chart I use:

Distance	Speed	Exertion
.5 miles	7.0	“dream speed” 10k
.25 miles	7.6	Fast pace
.25 miles	6.7	Easy pace

 

You are welcome to take short breaks between the mile intervals. Make it suit YOUR workout. It really is a great one!

cool down: Always remember to do something to actively cool down your muscles. I usually do a brisk walk and gradually slow it down, then follow with some stretching.

 

I do this workout on the treadmill so I can control my speed. You could also do this with a walk, and mix in some incline to make the harder parts harder, and easier parts easier. Or you can do it at a track or around town or on an elliptical…whatever works!

 

Enjoy!