Whether you have shin splints and can’t run right now or you just are tired of running on your treadmill, you don’t want to just leave the treadmill sitting around. To help you utilize your treadmill more, here are seven treadmill workouts that don’t require any running but will help you get in a great workout.
1. Tricep Dips
To work your upper body more, you can do tricep dips on your treadmill. Facing away from the treadmill console, place your hands on the treadmill arms and push up so that you are suspended above the deck. Bend your arms at the elbow and slowly lower yourself before raising back up.
Not all treadmills are up to doing tricep dips as well as the other exercises below, as it requires a sturdy treadmill. If you are currently researching treadmills, you will want to be sure that you pick one of the best home treadmills so that it can stand up to both regular treadmill workouts and these alternative exercises.
2. Walking Plank
For a full body exercise, set your treadmill to 1-2 MPH and get in the push-up position, with your feet on the floor and hands on the treadmill side rails. Once your position is comfortable, place your hands on the moving treadmill belt and walk forward with your hands while maintaining the plank position.
This exercise can be very taxing, as it is half static and half active. If you are unsure of your arm strength, set the speed of the treadmill to 0.5-1 MPH so that you can bail out more easily.
3. Reverse Mountain Climbers
After you set the speed of your treadmill to 1-2 MPH, get into the plank position facing away from the treadmills with your feet braced on either side railing. Once you feel steady, set your feet on the moving treadmill belt and move with the belt to engage in reverse mountain climbers.
This exercise is a good complement to the walking plank, as it targets your core and lower body, while the walking plank focuses on the upper body.
4. Side Shuffle
To help change up the motion of your regular treadmill workouts, you can try doing side shuffles. Start by standing on the treadmill side rails and setting the speed between 3-5.5 MPH, depending on your comfort level. Once you feel ready, step onto the belt so that you are sideways on the treadmill deck with slightly bent knees.
While you are in a slight crouch, shuffle sideways as the treadmill belt moves. This movement can work muscles that aren’t normally engaged by running, and it can help tone up your calves and thighs.
5. Uphill Walking
A simple alternative to running is using the incline function on your treadmill. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) commissioned a study on the effects of using even 5% incline to help overweight clients exercise safely and lose weight. As they found over the course of the study, even that modest increase of incline helped their participants lose weight.
Most of the better treadmills come with at least 10-15% incline range available, which means you can burn plenty of calories on your treadmill simply by increasing the incline and walk uphill.
6. Hanging Leg Raises
Similar to the tricep dips, you will want the treadmill off and position yourself so that you are suspended above the treadmill deck by bracing your hands on the treadmill arms. Once you are in this position, raise both of your legs until your thighs are parallel to the treadmill deck, then lower them.
Doing this repeatedly can help not only build up your upper body strength as you hold yourself up, but you can also target and tone your lower abdominal muscles.
7. Side Skip
Setting the speed on your treadmill between 3.5-5 MPH—depending on your comfort level—stand on one of the side rails with both hands on one of the treadmill arms. Once you are ready, step onto the belt and start side skipping, keeping your body facing the arm of the treadmill you are holding onto.
It has a similar effect as a jumping rope, except more stable as you will need to hang onto the arm of the treadmill.
While these workouts may not be as cardio intensive, there are plenty of overall fitness benefits to mixing low- and high-intensity cardio workouts. So, if you are ready to round out your cardio and make better use of your treadmill, you should definitely try out these treadmill alternative exercises.
