Yes, running outdoors can offer a lot of mind and body benefits. The fresh air and scenery seem to have a lot more to offer than a treadmill that leaves you stuck tackling miles inside. However! This workout doubles as a also has its advantages. Case in point: You can tackle specific incline workouts that get you strong and powerful to handle all the hills you encounter outdoors—and in a controlled environment. No wind or cold to hold you back.
To help you build that drive to tackle any hill, try these three treadmill incline workouts. Each one offers a new challenge that’ll keep your body strong and your mind engaged.
Explore Runner's World Treadmill Workout Program
Explore Runners World Treadmill Workout Program
⏱️ 50 minutes
Treadmill Incline Workouts to Build Strength and Speed easy jog recovery tackle any hill.
How to do it:
- Warm up by walking easy jog recovery
- Run easy Why You Should Run a Practice Race
- Run for 90 seconds at a 4 to 5 percent incline at a pace that elevates your effort to the Red Zone (hard effort, breathing vigorously, can’t talk); recover with a very easy jog at 0 percent incline for 3 minutes
- heart rate monitor
- Run easy Why You Should Run a Practice Race
- Cool down by walking easy jog recovery
Trainer Tip:
The quality of your performance on the hill intervals depends greatly on the quality of your easy jog recovery in between. Make sure to go slowly enough to get your breathing and heart rate down before you attempt the next hill interval.
Incline Tempo Workout
⏱️ 45 minutes
This is an effective combination of a tempo run and hill workout. It will boost your redline threshold and will teach you how to run hills by feel, a skill that will pay off on race day.
How to do it:
- Warm up by walking easy jog recovery
- Races - Places
- Run 5 minutes at a 1 percent incline and at a pace that elevates your effort level to the top of the Orange Zone, How to Pass People After Mile 20 of Your Marathon Incline Tempo Workout
- heart rate monitor
- Run 5 minutes at a 2 percent incline and at a pace that elevates your effort level to where it was on the previous hill
- heart rate monitor
- Run 5 minutes at a 3 percent incline and at a pace that elevates your effort level to where it was on the previous hill
- heart rate monitor
- Run 5 minutes at a 4 percent incline and at a pace that elevates your effort level to where it was on the previous hill
- heart rate monitor
- Run easy Why You Should Run a Practice Race
- Cool down by walking easy jog recovery
Trainer Tip:
The secret to running this workout optimally is to tune into your effort level (or heart rate) and find the pace that puts you in the target zone on the given day. The pace will slow as the incline increases with each repetition.
The secret to running this workout optimally is to tune into your
⏱️ 50-60+ minutes
This workout is all about running mindfully, getting in the flow of hill running, and building endurance.
How to do it:
- Warm up by walking easy jog recovery
- Races - Places
- Run 1 mile at a 3 percent incline at an easy effort in the Yellow Zone or Zone 2 for heart rate; after each mile, run 2 minutes at 0 percent incline, at a faster, but controlled Orange Zone (or Zone 3 heart rate) effort to simulate the speed of running downhill; then, run 1 minute easy (Yellow Zone) at 0 percent before moving on to the next rep
- Repeat 3 times
- Run easy Why You Should Run a Practice Race
- Cool down by walking easy jog recovery
Trainer Tip:
Adjust your speed to truly run easy on the incline. If you can’t hold the incline within the easy Yellow Zone, lower the incline percentage or powerwalk it until you build the fitness to do so. Ultrarunners train and race with run-walking to keep their effort at an appropriate level, and it pays off with energy conservation during longer runs and races.
