Treadmill hill workouts are an excellent way to challenge yourself by increasing the intensity of your run. They are also very useful for gradually improving your running efficiency, and since they’re done indoors, you can complete them any time of year regardless of the weather.
You’ll find five awesome treadmill hill workouts at the bottom of this post, but first take some time to read up on the pros and cons of this type of exercise, how to create your own workouts, and some addition tips!
Disclaimer: Check with a doctor before beginning any new exercise routine, especially if you’ve had any issues with injuries or medical issues in the past.
Benefits of Treadmill Hill Running
Adjusting the incline and challenging yourself to some hills has many benefits:
- More variety– If you’re not a fan of the treadmill, adding in hills (or speed intervals) can help to add variety to your run and make it more enjoyable.
- Greater calorie burn– If you’re running hills, your body has to work harder at the same speed. This means you burn more calories in your workout compared to steady state running.
- Increases intensity without increasing speed – Trying to run at a faster-than-usual pace can cause deviations in stride for new runners, and may increase injury risk if done too often. Increasing the incline on a treadmill allows you to increase the intensity of your workout while maintaining the same speed. This may be helpful for lactate threshold training.
- Race day preparation – If you have a race coming up that’s on hilly terrain, it’s important to practice running on similar terrain prior to the event. However, not everyone lives in an area where there are long and/or steep hills. Using the treadmill a few times throughout training will give you the ability to simulate your race day course in these situations.
- Useful in the winter– When the snow starts piling up in the winter, it can be tough running outdoors if there aren’t sidewalks and the roads aren’t plowed well. If you can’t find a safe spot to run during those times, the treadmill can come in handy.
Cautions with Hill Workouts
If you’re new to running on a treadmill, keep in mind that adding hills does increase the intensity of a workout. If you’re just getting started with exercise – perhaps you’ve been inactive in the past but are looking to change that! – then you’ll want to get comfortable walking or running while the belt is flat first.
Starting with a ton of hills right away can stress your body, and too-much-too-soon leads to muscle soreness. This often causes people to stop working out before they’ve created a habit. Once you’ve mastered the flat terrain for a bit and feel comfortable with that, then feel free to add in the hills.
Creating Your Own Hill Workouts
While there are five specific treadmill hill workouts for you below, know that you can also create your own workouts too.
The main variable that you’ll manipulate for your run is the incline on the treadmill. I recommend using a base incline of 0.5 to 1%, just to better simulate outdoor running. From there, you can adjust the incline up to different levels. Smaller increases – like running around 2-3% – might simulate a long gradual hill. Larger increases – around 8 to 10% – might simulate a steep short hill.
You can also manipulate speed during your hill workouts. For example, you might start a hill workout with a lower-than-usual speed that allows you to finish, and gradually over time work your speed up to a normal flat-road pace.
You can also change the duration of your hill intervals and overall workout to create an easier or more challenging session. For example:
- Shorter/longer intervals (i.e. 30 seconds vs. 60 seconds for a steep hill climb)
- Shorter/longer active rest time (i.e. 2 minutes jogging vs. 4 minutes jogging between climbs)
- More/less total number of rounds (i.e. 5 total hill climbs vs. 8 total hill climbs)
There are lots of factors here that you can change to increase the intensity of a workout, but it’s recommended that you only change one at a time. In other words, don’t try to increase the length of the hill climb and the number of intervals you’re doing all at once; instead focus on just one thing at a time if you’re creating your own workout plan.
Other Tips for Treadmill Hill Running
- While it’s tempting to grab the arms of the treadmill, avoid this – unless you have balance or vertigo issues and need to do so for your safety. Holding onto the arms changes your running stride and makes your run less efficient. Instead, focus on a speed and incline that you can do without holding on. Use a good arm swing motion as part of your run to keep yourself moving.
- If you’re new to treadmill hill workouts, you want to push yourself – but not so hard that you injure yourself. If any of the suggested inclines are too tough, adjust them to a level that works for you.
- Any kind of running workout that is intense – whether hills or speed – puts more stress on your body compared to a flat, steady-state run. If you’re new to hill workouts, I recommend limiting them to one per week and focus your other runs on comfortable, flat, easy-paced workouts.
- If you’re dealing with muscle soreness/tightness after your workouts, try some stretching and foam rolling afterwards. You can also try working in some yoga for runners too, which some people find to help.
Asian women running sport shoes at the gym while a young caucasian woman is having jogging on the treadmill
5 Treadmill Hill Workouts
Alright, are you ready to give these a try?! Here are five different workouts for you to test out:
1) Steady State Hill Workout
Jog or walk for 5 minutes at a comfortable pace and a 1% incline to warm up.
Set the incline to simulate a small, gradual hill. I recommend starting with 1.5-2.5%, but there’s no one “right” number – it will vary based on your experience and fitness level. Run at a comfortable pace at this incline (around half marathon pace) for 20-25 minutes.
Cool down with 5 minutes of jogging at a 1% incline.
2) 4×4 Hill Workout
Jog or walk for 5 minutes at a comfortable pace and a 1% incline to warm up.
Set the incline to 4%. Run at a comfortably-challenging pace for 4 minutes (one where you can reach the end of the interval, but it feels a bit tough – around 10K to half marathon pace).
Reduce the incline to 1% and reduce your speed to a comfortable jog for 4 minutes.
Repeat this sequence 4x.
Cool down with 5 minutes of jogging at a 1% incline.
3) Quick Hills
Jog or walk for 5 minutes at a comfortable pace and a 1% incline to warm up.
Set the incline to 5%. Run for 90 seconds at a comfortably-challenging pace (one where you can reach the end of the interval, but it feels a bit tough – around 5K to 10K pace).
Reduce the interval to 1% and reduce your speed to a comfortable jog for 3 minutes.
Cool down with 5 minutes of jogging at a 1% incline.
4) The Beast
Jog or walk for 5 minutes at a comfortable pace and a 1% incline to warm up.
Set the incline to 8%. Run at the best effort you can sustain for 30 seconds.
Reduce the incline to 1%. Jog or walk for 3 minutes.
Repeat this sequence 6 to 10 times, depending on fitness level.
Cool down with 10 minutes of jogging at a 1% incline.
5) Hill Pyramid
Jog for 5 to 10 minutes at a comfortable pace and a 1% incline to warm up.
Run at a comfortable pace (one that feels a bit easy at the beginning, as it becomes challenging as you work up the pyramid) using these times and inclines:
- 5 minutes at 2%
- 4 minutes at 3%
- 3 minutes at 4%
- 2 minutes at 5%
- 3 minutes at 4%
- 4 minutes at 3%
- 5 minutes at 2%
Cool down with 10 minutes of jogging at a 1% incline.
I hope you enjoy these workouts! Be sure to pin this post for later so you can refer to it when you’re ready to get on the treadmill!
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