This Coach’s Treadmill Strategy Maximizes Fitness, Minimizes Fatigue, and Busts Boredom. Here’s How to Execute It.

As runners, sometimes we think throwing hills into our runs or pushing the pace a little extra in hard workouts can lead to more gains without consequence. In reality, every time you make your runs a bit faster, longer, or steeper, you have to ease up on something else or you risk burnout, injury, or simply not finishing the session.Balancing each element of your workout takes some planning. But thankfully, David Siik, founder of Precision Run by Equinox and author of The Ultimate Treadmill Workout, has done the strategizing for you. Siik’s treadmill workout method packs in incline, speed, and distance, without leaving you overly fatigued or struggling to recover the next day. The extra payoff: zero boredom.Here’s how to do it.The Treadmill Strategy That Maximizes Your FitnessSiik’s method combines incline and speed, along with adequate recovery, to gain all the benefits of an interval workout that’s easy to follow. “Once you experience really well-balanced intervals like this, it becomes very easy to know when something feels risky or too stressful on the body,” Siik says.When you change one element in this workout strategy, you automatically adjust the other elements to manage your fatigue levels and maintain efficiency. For example, when you run intervals at a 1 percent incline, you slow your speed down by 0.2 miles per hour (mph) to prevent overstressing your body.“It prescribes the right speeds on the right inclines, for the right amount of time so that you are able to maximize your performance while minimizing impact on your body,” Siik says.The pace for the run portions of this workout should be about 2 mph below your one-minute PR speed. For example, if your one-minute PR speed is 7 mph, run at 5 mph. This pace should feel like a 9 out of 10 for rate of perceived exertion (RPE), with 10 equaling all-out effort. It should feel like you could repeat those intervals a few more times without the incline at the end of your workout if you had to.A shortcut to determining your one-minute PR is to first try running at 5 mph, then go off Siik’s easy guide:If 5 mph feels like you could maintain it without breaking a sweat, then your one-minute PR is somewhere between 8 and 10 mph. If 5 mph feels faster than a comfortable easy run pace, your one-minute PR is likely in the 7 to 9 mph range.If 5 mph feels about the same as running an interval workout, your one-minute PR is probably around 6 mph.If it feels like you’re sprinting and close to exhaustion, then your one-minute PR might be closer to a 4 or 5 mph.Siik’s Ladder WorkoutPut that one-minute PR pace setting to use with this workout.Warm up for 5 minutes of light jogging (RPE 2).Run for 1 minute at 0% incline (RPE 9).Walk for 1 minute.Run for 1 minute at 1% incline, while slowing treadmill speed by 0.2 (RPE 9).Walk for 1 minute.Repeat steps 4 and 5 for 5 more reps, increasing treadmill incline by 1% each time and decreasing speed by 0.2 each time.Cool down for 5 minutes of light jogging (RPE 2).3 Tips for Nailing This Treadmill Workout1. Forget About Your Usual Outdoor Pacing SystemYour outdoor paces don’t always translate directly to the treadmill, Siik explains. You might pace yourself differently because running in place on the treadmill can slightly slow down your times, especially if you’re used to using a GPS watch outside or going off marathon pace, for example, Siik says. That’s why he uses his “one-minute PR” method to help you determine your treadmill pace.2. Start on the Slower End and BuildIf you go straight to a 9 out of 10 RPE in the very first interval of a 45-minute workout, you might hurt or overexert yourself, Siik explains. It’s okay to start off on the slower end of your effort for the first few intervals, especially as you get more comfortable adjusting to treadmill pace.Siik recommends starting with a 6 out of 10, then building up from there. This helps you preserve energy for later intervals and leaves you more room to improve.3. Try This Workout All Year RoundEven if you’re training for a race, you can still incorporate these workouts into your schedule, in lieu of your weekly interval workout. If you’re going long distance, like a marathon, Siik suggests lowering your run interval pace by 1 mph and bringing your walk breaks up to a pace that’s about 2 mph slower than your run pace.Siik calls this “cushioning.” “You’re still doing interval training, but the contrast of the hard effort and the recovery become a little less intense,” he adds.The Benefits of This Interval Strategy1. You Manage Fatigue While Gaining FitnessWhen you have a balance between the amount of speed, incline, and duration you’re running, you don’t overuse your muscles or find yourself struggling to recover. “Increasing workload (incline or speed) too quickly can lead to soreness or risk of injury,” Siik adds. “Small, calculated, progressive increases in incline and/or speed creates a smooth, even increase in work on the body.”2. You Can Scale the WorkoutsThis treadmill workout strategy is designed to make sense to runners who have never run before; it teaches you how to switch back and forth between fast paces and recovery speed, which you might not be used to if you only ever log easy runs or speed up too much on rest intervals.Most of the time, these types of workouts last between 30 and 45 minutes and include walk breaks, so you’re only running about 60 percent of the time, Siik notes. This makes the workout beginner-friendly.3. You Stay EngagedEach workout follows a pattern, which keeps you more engaged in the intervals and anticipating what’s coming next. “Patternization is the best-kept secret in treadmill running. If you have a pattern that’s really well-structured, your mind knows where the workout is going, and it’s magic,” says Siik.This also means you’re less distracted, making you more likely to stick with your workout paces and less likely to give up on the session. “When you have a workout that’s really structured and you’re paying attention to the intervals… You do better quality work, then it starts to make more sense to you, and you start making bigger and better goals,” Siik says.Kristine Kearns, a writer and avid runner, joined Runner’s World and Bicycling in July 2024. She previously coached high school girls cross country and currently competes in seasonal races, with more than six years of distance training and an affinity for weightlifting. You can find her wearing purple, baking cupcakes, and visiting her local farmers market.