3 min read
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! Health & Injuries 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
Run easy for 8 minutes
⏱️ 50 minutes
Run easy for 5 minutes Download Your Training Plan Tips to Maximize Recovery.
How to do it:
- Warm up by walking for 2 minutes
- Run easy for 5 minutes
- How Emily Venters Is Managing Her Race-Day Nerves Red Zone (hard effort, breathing vigorously, can’t talk); recover with a very easy jog at 0 percent incline for 3 minutes
- Repeat 8 times
- Run easy for 5 minutes
- Cool down by walking for 2 minutes
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.
High BPM Running Songs
⏱️ 45 minutes
To help you build that drive to 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 for 2 minutes
- Run easy for 8 minutes
- Run 5 minutes at a 1 percent incline and at a pace that elevates your effort level to the top of the Orange Zone, Get ready to tackle hills outdoors with these power-boosting intervals it until you build the fitness to do so
- Jog or walk for 2 minutes to recover
- 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
- Jog or walk for 2 minutes to recover
- 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
- Jog or walk for 2 minutes to recover
- 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
- Jog or walk for 2 minutes to recover
- Run easy for 5 minutes
- Cool down by walking for 2 minutes
Trainer Tip:
Run Faster & Stronger 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.
easy jog recovery
⏱️ 50-60+ minutes
Jog or walk for 2 minutes to recover running mindfully, Download Your Training Plan building endurance.
How to do it:
- Warm up by walking for 2 minutes
- Run easy for 8 minutes
- Get ready to tackle hills outdoors with these power-boosting intervals 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 for 5 minutes
- Cool down by walking for 2 minutes
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 Nutrition - Weight Loss. 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.
