Readers Respond: How Do You Beat Treadmill Boredom?

Responses: 50

Updated March 23, 2009

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I suggest this youtube video!...it's an incredible demonstration of different workouts using a treadmill! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4rZ8sfeegA
—Guest Carol Ann

Watch recorded programs, and keep the treadmill run varied with lots of intervals. When your heart is really thumping for short intervals, the time goes really quickly, especially when you do two minute sprints with one minute recovery. Complete 10 for a good workout and there goes 30 minutes.
—Guest Denise Marriner

Having spent a lot of time tin the military, I found some CDs on airborne, infantry,and ranger marching cadence and transferred them to tapes for my tape player. Using tapes which go for 45 minutes on one side alone, load it up with cadences for 45 minutes per side. Have set my pace to the point that at the end of the 45-min side, I have walked 3 miles. Have 2 tapes, headphones, and tape player on my shirts. For variety, have made tapes of other military music, ie, John Philip Sousa, Marching Gold for millions, Military medley (mix of music from different branches of service, including WW1 and WW2 popular military music on radio/movies). My spouse even modernized my dinosaur-like setup by duplicating it on an MP3. Put the earphones on, play the music, walk the treadmill, and zone out, keeping in step without missing a beat for the duration. Too bad I do not run, otherwise would do the running to the cadence of .......... >>>>>>>>
—Guest PJ O

I set my treadmill up on the outside porch.The neighbor loves to sunbathe in the nude.Boy does the hour fly by.
—JohnStone007

I listen to recorded books on my cd player, which I get from the library or I watch TV.
—Guest laurette410

I like to listen to audiobooks when I'm walking. If the book is good I don't even know how much time is passing.
—Guest lmahood

I download full episodes of for instance, PBS "Bleak House" and the time flies. No boredom here! The fat just flies off as the minutes tic off. My focus is on the screen directly before, no neck craning to see a TV screen up in a corner. Keeps my posture in optimum form avoiding injury to neck, knees etc. Love my iPod touch, can change whatever my taste is for that day. I do a series that way it really encourages me to workout while I find out future plots of my series. It's rather helpful to keep me distracted from keeping my eye on the TIME!
—Notafattypatty

I read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal while walking uphill at a speed of 3.3 or 3.4 and a grade of 5.5 or 6. It generally takes me 5 or 6 miles to get through both newspapers. That's between 90 and 146 minutes.
—Guest Art Kaufman

On the days where I keep a pretty consistant speed or incline, I listen to my iPod and watch the tv on the treadmill without any sound. Listening to something fast and having my eyes occupied too makes the time seem to go quicker ;)
—Guest Sydney

Im a long distance runner but occasionally I ned to use the treadmill. My tip is to pinpoint someone in the gym and pretend they are watching you perform your run. I usually do 45 mins to an hour so it keeps me amused
—Guest Natalie

Songs with a beat really help, and gradually make the beat faster. Also changing of the speed to keep in pace with the beat. I also find watching any show with 20 minute episodes make the time go past much quicker.
—Guest b

Every time I hop on the treadmill, I try and do a different variation of basically the same exercise. Maybe today I'll start at 3.5 kph and change up the incline every minute. Or maybe I'll up the speed every minute. Or maybe I'll start at 3.5 kph, jump straight up to 4.5, and THEN up it by .1 every 30 seconds. As long as I get a warm up and a cool down, and burn at least 150 calories, it's a successful workout, and often I go above that number just by changing it up. I also always change the CD that I'm listening to every few days. Your body gets bored and it's more tiring to run the same thing everyday with the same music. If you change it, you keep your body guessing, and it's much more invigorating, I find.
—airee

Consistantly change the speed every time the timer is at a :50, for instance 1:50, 2:50, 3:50, etc. Why :50? Its makes it seem like the minute is shorter psychologically. By the time you adjust to the new speed 10-15 seconds have gone by, and then the duration of your minute appears very short before you have to change the speed again. Boredom is a result of not performing a valuable action or not doing an act which enhances your survival status, dominance, success, etc. Thus, every minute needs to be meaningful. If you are doing the same speed for your whole exercise-routine there is nothing that differentiates one minute from the next and thus the only value in the exercise is finishing. We want every minute to have value thus every minute needs to be shaped into its own individual piece of the workout. I continually increase the speed every minute. I start very very low, and every minute I increase the speed by .1, and I am never ever bored. You can create your own style.
—Guest jackon

I usually download podcasts on my iPod and listen to them while I workout. I also set up my computer and watch a DVD.
—singlmindd

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