Runners often underestimate the power of walking. But in general, walking more can benefit heart health, joint health, and your overall fitness. This time of year, it’s also easy to get in a solid exercise session with a treadmill walking workout.
“People think that because it’s walking, it can’t be challenging, and it’s not going to do anything,” says Mathew Forzaglia, C.P.T., trainer and founder of Forzag Fitness. In reality, walking on a treadmill can be one of the best ways to get into running because of how much you can control the different variables like your breathing, speed, and incline, which are all important factors in running, he says.
That’s why we tapped three certified personal trainers to find out how good of a workout you can get while walking on a treadmill, plus four treadmill walking workouts for you to try today.
The Benefits of Treadmill Walking Workouts
“Walking is an incredibly economical way of using your energy and moving your body efficiently. It increases joint strength, improves heart health, and lowers blood pressure,” says Rebecca Kennedy, Peloton tread instructor. Plus, it’s a low-impact form of exercise, so it’s easier on the body and allows for more consecutive days of exercise.
What’s more: Newbie runners or those generally just starting an exercise routine can dedicate time to walking workouts as a way to build a training base. “It’s a cheat tool in conditioning in the sense of adding the base layer that we can build on top of when we start to introduce running and sprinting,” says Forzaglia. Easing into running via walking allows you to build intensity without feeling as sore as running postworkout, which can encourage you to do more of it, he adds.
For advanced runners, treadmill walking workouts, like the ones listed below, are a great option to practice on active recovery days, Kennedy says. You’ll still get in a cardio workout, but without that impact of running.
Lastly, walking workouts can come in handy if you’re coming back from an injury, as long as you’re cleared to exercise. “If someone’s injured, or they’re not feeling 100 percent, I encourage them to continue to move by walking, preferably, walking uphill, or on an incline with a treadmill,” says Kenny Santucci, C.P.T., trainer, marathoner, and founder of The Strength Club in New York City. This way you can work to maintain your fitness levels, until you’re cleared to run again.
4 Treadmill Walking Workouts
1. Pyramid Scheme
This is a simple and fun way to add intensity to your walking workout in a way that will help you strengthen the back of your body.
“When you’re walking up an incline, your body is forced to lean forward to essentially counterbalance and keep momentum going. So that’s going to really challenge your posterior muscles—you’re going to feel your lower back and glutes, along with your quads,” says Forzaglia. This is why you shouldn’t hold onto the treadmill while walking up a steep incline because it will counteract your forward momentum and you won’t get as good of a workout, he adds.
How to do it:
Intervals 1 to 4 (12 minutes total):
- Walk for 2 minutes on 2% to 5% incline at a pace that is easy for you (somewhere between 1.5 miles per hour (mph) and 3.5 mph)
- Walk on a flat incline for 1 minute
- Repeat, increasing the speed by 1.0 mph and incline by 1% for each 2-minute interval for 4 total rounds
Intervals 5 to 8 (12 minutes total):
- Walk for 2 minutes on an incline that is 1% less than your last incline interval, and 1.0 mph slower
- Walk on a flat incline for 1 minute
- Repeat, decreasing the incline of the previous 2-minute interval by 1% and speed by 1.0 mph for 4 total rounds
2. 3-2-1 Workout
This workout will help you build leg strength and power by walking at incrementally faster paces on a steep incline, says Kennedy. You’ll need to pick an incline (10, 12, or 15 percent) and stick with it for the entire workout, so choose wisely, she adds.
How to do it:
Choose an incline of either 10%, 12%, or 15% and practice the following:
- 3 min easy walking pace (you should be able to hold a conversation)
- 2 min moderate walking pace (you should be breathing heavy and only able to speak in short sentences)
- 1 min hard power walking pace (you should be breathing heavy and only able to say a few words)
- Repeat for 5-6 sets
3. 10-10-10 Workout
This workout offers runners a great active recovery option as it offers mileage without the impact, and you can improve endurance during this lower intensity cardio session, says Kennedy.
How to do it:
- 10 minutes of easy walking (between 1.0 mph and 2.9 mph)at 15% incline
- 10 minutes of power walking (between 3.0 mph and 3.5 mph) at 6% incline
- 10 minutes of easy walking (between 1.0 mph and 2.9 mph) at 15% incline
4. The 5s Workout
If you’re looking to add more variety to your walking, then this is the workout for you. It takes roughly 30 minutes to complete and will continuously challenge you from the start, thanks to the incline challenge. From the start, you will change your speed, while lowering the incline, but still maintaining a hill walk.
Kennedy suggests going at a moderate pace throughout the intervals, which means you should be slightly breathless, so it feels challenging but doable, she says.
How to do it:
To warm up, walk for 5 minutes on a less than 5% incline or flat treadmill
- 5 minutes of walking between 2.5 mph and 3.5 mph at 15% incline
- 5 minutes of walking, 8% incline, increase speed by 0.2 mph or 0.3 mph
- 5 minutes of walking between 2.5 mph and 3.5 mph on 15% incline
- 5 minutes of walking, 8% incline, increase speed by 0.4 mph or 0.6 mph
- 5 minutes of walking between 2.5 mph and 3.5 mph on 15% incline
To cool down, walk for 5 minutes on a less than 5% incline or flat treadmill
Monique Lebrun
Monique LeBrun joined the editorial staff in October 2021 as the associate health and fitness editor. She has a master’s degree in journalism and has previously worked for ABC news and Scholastic. She is an avid runner who loves spending time outside.
