Treadmill workout for getting fast!

A couple of our running clients were asking for a short, intense treadmill session that they could do when the weather was being unkind, that would make them fast! They asked, we delivered, here’s one of the sessions we currently use:

• 5 minutes easy warm up (any pace you like)

• Run at 3kph below your 5km pace (if your 5km time is 20mins, then your 5km speed is 15kph, so set the treadmill to 12kph)
• Run for 45 seconds at this speed with 0% incline
• Run for 2 minutes at this speed with 1% incline
• Run for 45 seconds at this speed with 0% incline
• Repeat above, but this time raise the incline to 2%
• Repeat again for 3%, 4% and 5%

• 5 minutes easy cool down (any pace you like)

So basically the session is to run for 45 seconds on the flat, 2 minutes incline and 45 seconds on the flat, repeated 5 times with different levels of incline for each 2 minute block of work! Easy!

Except that it's not easy. This is a tough little session which really gives you a kick up the butt, it can be used by anyone training for a 5k, 10k, half marathon or marathon as a great alternative session which will boost your lactate threshold (your bodies ability to remove lactate more efficiently from the body during high intensity exercise) and teach you to keep a sustained effort level on a variety of inclines.

However, if you can complete this session fairly easily, you can:

• Increase the start speed
• Reduce the time of the flat "rest" sections (i.e. from 45 seconds to 20 or 30 seconds)
• Increase the number of incline efforts

This is also a great session for the time crunched athlete, this session is all done in under 30mins and boosts your fitness like you wouldn't believe. I plan on posting a few more of these up here, so keep popping back to check out the new treadmill running workout!

If you're a runner, triathlete or endurance athlete and would like some advice on treadmill training, running training concepts or training plans check out our Vale Sports Therapy website or contact our running coach, Mark (Cardiff, Penarth & Barry) on 07947 010276.