Tread to Shred: 5 Treadmill Workouts You Need to Try

Sick and tired of the same old mindless run on the dreadmill? No one ever said running in place would be a good time, but we found some treadmill workouts to keep you interested in working out. Check out these five exercise routines to spice up your treadmill workout to keep it entertaining and maybe even — dare we say it — fun!

Pick A Card: Patti Finke, certified running coach with the Road Runners Club of America, uses this workout for her runners. Take four notecards and label them "walk," "jog," "run" and "run fast." Place them in an envelope and place the envelope on the treadmill's control panel. Start your warmup, and after a few minutes, pick a card and do what it says for three or four minutes. If the first card you pick says "jog," simply continue with your workout. If it says "run," start at an easy pace. Make sure that when you pick "run fast" you're pushing yourself, but not to the point of exhaustion (via Fitbie).

Ladder: This gives a twist to the classic treadmill workout by gradually increasing your running intervals.

• Warm up for one mile.
• Run at a fast pace for two minutes, then slow down to a recovery pace for two to three minutes. Again, make sure that when you're running fast you are pushing yourself, but not feeling like you're going all out.
• After your recovery run, run fast for four minutes.
• After, slow down for a four to five minute recovery pace.
• Keep increasing your running intervals depending on your fitness level, but eventually you will do the same process backwards, decreasing running intervals, and finish with a cool down.

This workout is awesome because the level of difficulty peaks in the middle of the workout, so it gets easier at the end! (via Fitbie)

Read more: For more information about interval training, click here.

TV Workout: Always a welcome distraction, the TV helps us get through boring workouts more often than we'd like to admit. To make things a little more interesting, try running during the episode of whatever show you're watching and walking during the commercials. A half-hour show will typically be 22 minutes long with 8 minutes of commercials. Or if you prefer tunes to television, try running to the beat of the music coming from your headphones (via Fitbie).

Total-Body Workout: Not only will this workout spice up your treadmill time, but it will also work out your whole body.

• Start by warming up for five minutes.
• Then hop off the treadmill and do 15 pushups.
• Hop back on and run for one minute and sprint for 30 seconds. Repeat three times and hop off the treadmill again.
• This time, hold a plank for a full minute and do 20 bicycle crunches.
• Get back on the treadmill and repeat the running and sprinting combo.
• Next time you hop off the treadmill, do a side plank for 30 seconds and 15 overhead press reps with a light weight.
• Repeat the treadmill work.
• The final leg of this workout consists of 15 tricep dips on a bench or chair and 20 squats. Cool down on the treadmill for five minutes, and you're done! (via Fitbie)

The Sprint-Ladder Treadmill Workout: Similar to the ladder workout above, this challenges even the most experienced runners. Fear not, however, because you can easily adjust speeds to your comfort level. Start with a five to ten minute warmup walking or jogging.

• Next, go for 60 seconds at seven miles per hour.
• 60 seconds at five miles per hour.
• 45 seconds at eight miles per hour.
• 60 seconds at four miles per hour.
• 30 seconds at nine miles per hour.
• 60 seconds at three miles per hour.
• 30 seconds at ten miles per hour.
• 90 seconds at three miles per hour.
• Repeat entire workout once, then cool down for five minutes at a jog or walk (via Self).

These workouts sure will get you huffin' and puffin', but don't challenge yourself to the point that you fall off the treadmill! You can modify any of the programs listed above to your own comfort level.

Still not satisfied with your treadmill workout? Check out these other cardio workouts to get your heart rate up.