11 Ways to Stay Motivated While Running on the Treadmill

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Getting into any kind of fitness requires enthusiasm and strong perseverance. People who have made the tough exercise journey—whatever their starting point—often share their impressive results. The end results can be both absolutely transformative and flabbergasting, but reaching a high level of fitness while running on a treadmill is not a piece of cake.

As treadmills are now considered to be a fundamental exercising machine, it makes sense for you to take your fitness journey onto one of these machines. The thing is, running on a treadmill regularly requires solid efforts from you to get the desired results, and it can be tough to stay motivated that long. Here are a few tips from your friends at Treadmill Guru that can improve your treadmill sessions to help keep you motivated and focused on your goals.

Ways to Stay Motivated on a Treadmill

1. Set Various Running Goals

Setting a goal is critical before every treadmill workout. It keeps you driven and ambitious, instead of feeling like you want to hit the stop button 10 minutes into your workout. But you need more than just a daily goal to shoot for to stay motivated over the longterm.

When it comes to successful treadmill running, you want to have a mix of short- and long-term goals to achieve. Your daily goal may be to just complete your scheduled workout, while you may have a weekly goal of how many miles total you want to go that week. As for a longer treadmill goal, you may want to use your treadmill training time to get ready for a race like a half marathon or even a full marathon.

With your various running goals clearly in mind—and maybe even written down—you can stay more motivated.

2. Keep A Positive Attitude

At the end of the day, it’s the attitude that really matters. Whenever you think you are losing the motivation, remind yourself of how much you really want to change. Let yourself believe and trust in your will power. Remind your body of the kind of figure you are shooting for, and how strong your treadmill workouts are helping you become.

If you think you can do it, then for sure you can do it. Make the motivation slip from your mind into your muscles so that you can give it your all when you go to workout on the treadmill.

3. Vary Speed And Incline

Walking or running on a similar pace and grade is often boring and dull, which is one of the quickest ways to turn your treadmill from an empowerment device into a coatrack. But if you vary the speed and incline often, you are far more likely to enjoy your workout routine.

Play with your treadmill by increasing the pace or changing the grade of your incline. By varying between walking to running, then to slow jogging, you can keep your body more engaged and your mind busier with incline changes.

Also, it’s not necessary to use the highest speed levels all the time. In fact, it is good for your overall fitness, as switching between slower and faster speeds keeps your body challenged and burning more calories. Doing these things won’t magically make treadmill training exciting, but it will give you more to do than pound along at the same dull pace.

4. Stay Cool

By using the treadmill, you can engage most of your muscles while you are in motion. This process definitely generates a great deal of heat as calories are burnt for energy. But the increased in your body temperature will trigger you to sweat and overheat.

So, try to use the treadmill with a good cooling system, like the NordicTrack Commercial 1750. It will not only let you relish coolness and perfect workout but also impact your motivation by keeping your focused on exercising rather than how uncomfortably hot you get.

5. Pick Out Entertainment

A big solution to help fix your depleting motivation is adding entertainment to your treadmill workouts. Some things you can do are:

  • Make a running playlist and let it rock your treadmill workout session.
  • Pick a TV show that you only watch during your treadmill exercise.
  • Discover new podcasts and audiobooks.

By doing these things, they can turn any boring workout day into something more engaging and motivating.

6. Split Treadmill Sessions

Thirty straight minutes on the treadmill sounds horrible to most people. But if these thirty minutes are split up into two, 15-minute sessions, then doing your treadmill workouts will sound a whole lot better and be less draining.

7. Run Better With A Friend

Friends not only make your life better, but their company during a workout can really shake up a treadmill workout. There are plenty of things you and your friend can do to make the workout more exciting and motivating.

One example of this would be if you want to race against them, setting different goals like who can complete one mile first or can finish a round of sprints first. With the company on a treadmill run, you can bring out your best competitive self, and you will get plenty of encouragement as well.

8. Keep Yourself Challenged

Challenge yourself on a treadmill. Try to discover new limits of your stamina. Don’t stick to a regular routine. Alter the target every day.

Set a higher target—whether it is high speed or incline—at least once a week and try your best to reach it. It will improve your stamina and will keep you driven through motivational lows.

9. Stay Hydrated During The Workout

Indoor workouts are great as you can take a break to drink or eat something. Apart from replenishing the vital energy, taking a break also can keep you inspired and striving for the best. Drink some water or an energy drink in intervals, even if you don’t take a full stopping break.

This necessary hydration will help keep your body from losing the required minerals, and you won’t feel as tired and parched. The better hydrated you are, the more chances you have for a best and longer treadmill session.

10. Don’t Look At The Console

Treadmill consoles seem to be stuck when you are running, and it’s really frustrating to see the time and distance ticking slowly. So, instead of watching your treadmill workout time slip by, you should avoid watching the console.

If you are worried about covering the console, you can set a timer to tell you when your workout session is completed. That way, you can more easily resist the urge to peek at the time.

11. Picture Your Fitness Idol

Picturing your fitness idol is similar to setting a goal only a bit more visual in nature. Search for your ideals in the fitness world. It can be anyone from your gym instructor to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Just visualize them when you are struggling on the treadmill. Believe that they are humans like you, and you can attain that level of physical fitness as well. This can help keep you focused and determined.

Staying motivated while running on a treadmill can be difficult, but by applying these tips to your future workouts, you should be able to achieve your fitness and health goals. And, if the treadmill itself is the issue, be sure to check out the best treadmills to ensure you have the right treadmill to carry you to success.

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