There are two kinds of people in life: those who love the treadmill and those who can’t stand it.
If you really want to have fun on the treadmill—or at least pass the time more easily—this is how you do it.
1. Add Intervals.
This is my #1 tip for beating treadmill boredom. Sometimes simply being on the treadmill is boring. Intervals are by far the best way to pass the time on any cardio machine. Rather than 30 minutes of running (or walking) at one continuous pace, you can break up your run into six 5-minute intervals, for example. It really helps the time fly by and gives you something to focus on. All it means is that you work harder, then you work easier by changing up your speed and/or incline. Here are some examples of how I incorporate intervals on the treadmill to pass the time. Note that you may need to adjust the speeds here to suit your fitness level, as these are just examples to give you ideas.

Interval Example #1

• Run at 7 mph for 1 minute.
• Run at 7.5 mph for 1 minute.
• Run at 8 mph for 1 minute.
• Sprint at 9 mph for 30 seconds.
• Recover at 6 mph for 2 minutes.
• Repeat until you reached your workout goal (30 minutes, 3 miles, etc.)

2. Race someone.
I discovered this by accident. When I hopped on the treadmill—all set to do my own interval workout—my friend jumped on the treadmill next to me a couple minutes later and said he was going to race me. “First one to a mile wins!” I know it seems silly, but it really motivated me to push myself and to have fun with my run. That first mile was over in the blink of an eye! Bring a buddy along to Everybodys to try this out. If you’re working out alone, visualize yourself in a race. Or if you’re in the gym, peek at the console of the person next to you and race him or her (they don’t need to know!).

3. Cover the console.
There is nothing motivating about seeing the clock slowly tick away when you’re on the treadmill. So I do my best to cover up the clock (or look away from it) as much as possible. It’s almost like a game I play with myself to see how long I can resist looking at it. A watched treadmill clock never ticks. You’re better off looking at something else if you’re trying to prevent boredom!

4. Challenge yourself.
It’s true that running and walking on a treadmill is not as challenging as doing the same exercise outside. The treadmill has other perks: like showing you exactly how hard you’re working. I take advantage of these truths when on the treadmill. I push myself to run faster than I normally would outside (and I can see exactly how fast I’m going!), which proves to be a fun challenge. The other perk of challenging yourself to work harder is that you can get in a great workout in a lot less time. So next time, push it on those speed intervals. Try a few sprints. See how long you can maintain a quicker clip.

5. Break it up.
If you had 100lbs to lose, you wouldn’t wait until you lose all 100lbs before celebrating would you? No! You’d probably break it up into smaller milestones, and celebrate each one. I do the same thing when I have to hit the treadmill. Instead of dreading a 30-minute treadmill run, I’ll break it up into 5-minute increments. Each one I accomplish gets a mini “WooHoo!” and makes me feel like I’m closer to my ultimate goal.

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Everybodys gym team