I came across this workout last March during quarantine and fell in love with it. I began running seven years ago and have always tried to keep it as part of my daily routine. I’m not talking marathon running here, just good old healthy running to stay fit.
What I love about this workout is that it only takes 30 minutes – so can easily fit into an active lifestyle, includes a warm up – this is often underestimated, keeps my attention – treadmill routines can often be boring, offers the benefits of HIIT workouts – enables you to achieve results in less time than other methods, and it makes me feel energized after doing it!
I always begin with five minutes of stretching. Then get on the treadmill and start the work out with a five-minute warm up of walking at a brisk pace. Next, run for one minute at 7mph followed by two minutes at 5.5mph. Repeat five times (fifteen minutes). Walk one minute at 3.5mph. Then run thirty seconds at 9.5mph, followed by one minute at 4mph. Repeat six times.
After you master this workout, you can consider slowly increasing intensity. For example, increase your run to 7.5mph and then 8mph after that. Likewise, if it feels too difficult in the beginning – lower your intensity and slowly build up. Start at a pace that you can sustain.
This workout requires a slightly more intense effort in a shorter amount of time than traditional treadmill routines, but the benefits are well worth the effort. In the past, I have frequently found myself reaching a standstill in my treadmill training and losing my focus. By adding HIIT to my workout plan, I have been able to achieve significant improvements and keep myself focuses throughout the workout. I love challenging my body in new ways and feeling the results throughout the day. Since I have been doing this, I feel so much stronger!
Last spring, I had plenty of time to add this into my day but when I started back to work full time in the fall I couldn’t imagine how I could possibly continue to fit this into my schedule. It began to feel overwhelming and discouraging, but this was important to me. I had worked hard at building up my endurance and loved how I was feeling each day. I decided that the only way I could guarantee myself the time was to get up an hour early and run before work. I had heard of this concept before, but have always valued my sleep more than most. The idea of giving up an hour of sleep sounded impossible to me. Missing workouts wasn’t an option this time, so I had to do something that would stick. It surprisingly wasn’t that bad. I found that I actually started looking forward to this time in the morning. I like the feeling of being up before the rest of my household and taking time for myself. I love feeling energized and ready for the day ahead. I make up for the sleep by going to bed a little earlier at night. In the words of Benjamin Franklin: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man, healthy, wealthy and wise”.