Treadmill Hill Workouts

Incline Workout Basics

Three mph is very slow on a zero incline. But it’s very grueling for some people as a sustained pace at 15 percent incline (hands off the machine!). Incline walking causes increased motion at the hip, knee and ankle joints. This means your lower body must work harder. So don’t underestimate the benefits of slow walking on an incline.

Let Go of the Handrails: Most people overestimate what they can handle, and end up clinging to the machine for support. This cheating will get you nowhere. Instead, humble yourself and slow down. Imagine you’re walking an outdoor trail. You certainly wouldn’t be walking quickly if it were steep enough. Find the speed and percent-grade that challenges you, that gets you out of breath, that makes you sweat—yet at the same time, that you can handle without cheating.

Overexerting? Slow Down! If you get wiped out quickly, there’s one of two things you can do. Either adjust the settings so that you can manage the walking without holding on, and then stick with the new adjustment for an extended period. This is called steady-state training.

Or—slow down/lower incline for 1 to 2 minutes only, just to recover enough to resume pumping at the settings that quickly wipe you out. When you feel like toast again, then once more, lower the settings to recover. Alternate this way for 30 minutes or more. This is called interval training.

Go the Pace and Incline That's Right for You: Since walkers come in all abilities, I can’t just say, "Okay, set the incline at 10 percent and the speed at 3.5 mph and walk for 12 minutes." Instead, pay attention to how your body feels, and use that as your gauge.

Steady-state Treadmill Hill Workout

• Always warm up, either level or with incline, for five minutes.
• Then experiment with various speeds and inclines to find the setting that challenges you, yet is manageable enough to sustain for 30 minutes, plus or minus small adjustments here and there.
• If you're new to inclines, your calves will probably burn out before your lungs do.
• Throughout the course of the session, do faster walks at low inclines, and very slow walks at higher inclines, for variety.
• Remember, holding onto the handrails is a waste of time.

Treadmill Interval Workout with Hills

These make time go faster, and you can include these with your steady-state sessions, or—commit the entire session to intervals training.

The interval you choose is one that will bring you to a high level of exertion, then a recovery interval to catch your breath.

• Intervals can last 30 seconds to 10 minutes.
• The shorter the interval, the tougher it should be; hence, the reason for its shortness. Thus, the one-minute interval should have you gasping after only one minute.
• Recovery intervals are easy enough to allow you to catch your breath, and can last 1 to 5 minutes.
• ]Some treadmills have interval programs, but depending on the model, only the incline changes, not the speed. Furthermore, depending on the model, the incline range is limited. For example, if you want both very high and low inclines in one program, and you set the program for varying grades, the variation may range by only 6 percent; this means no program will offer both very high and low grades.
• Manual manipulation may be the best route.
• Repeat intervals 3 to 10 times depending on the length of your workout.
• End with a 5 minute cool down.

Treadmill Threshold Interval Workout

• Warm up for 5 minutes at an easy pace.
• Choose a pace and incline that brings your heart rate to 85 to 92% of your max heart rate. Heart Rate Calculator
• Walk at the 85 to 92% of maximum heart rate for 8 minutes.
• Slow/reduce incline to an easy level for 2 minutes.
• Repeat for 3 to 4 repetitions.

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