When it comes to exercises that can strengthen the body, burn a ton of calories, and boost your health and cardiovascular endurance, running takes center stage. Hitting the pavement can be done just about anywhere (including on a treadmill), so your accessibility to get in some miles is fairly open to your advantage! Not only does running help to improve your heart and lung health, but it is known for helping to strengthen muscles, increase bone density, and keep you at a healthy weight.
If you’re a beginner runner, it might be intimidating to hop on a treadmill and start working on improving your mile time, distance, and speed. Thankfully, there are plenty of helpful tips and tricks to get you started on your running journey! Before you get started though, it would be good to know what you’re aiming to achieve with your time on the treadmill. Think of it this way – are you running to improve your fitness levels? Are you aiming for weight loss? Do you eventually want to train for an event or competition, such as a 5k? All of these factors are good to keep in mind as you set your goals, that way you can maximize your training time and focus on what you need to do to obtain those goals.
So, now that you’re prepared to hop on the treadmill, let’s give it a go! If this is your first time on this piece of equipment, the best thing to do is work up slowly; you can do this by starting at a walking pace and getting used to the feel of the treadmill, and then eventually progressing up to a run. Whichever way you choose to progress, just make sure that you’re including a good warmup at the beginning of your workout, and a cool down at the end.
How Long Should It Take to Do A Mile on A Treadmill?
How long it will take in order for you to run a mile on the treadmill will vary from person to person, and is dependent on training goals, health history, injury profile, and training schedule, just to name a few factors. If you’re running recreationally though, a typical mile time is done in approximately 10 minutes, with 12-15 minutes being a normal time frame for most beginner runners.
How to Run A Faster Mile on The Treadmill
Once you’ve got the hang of running on the treadmill, one of your goals might be to increase your speed/improve your overall mile time – which is an excellent goal! One of the best ways to run a faster mile on the treadmill is to incorporate interval training into your routine. There are many different ways to program intervals into your training regimen, but one of the most simple ways is to do speed repeats; for example, this can be done by running hard for a prescribed distance (.10 or even .25 miles), and then resting with a walk or light jog for the same time or distance. This process then continues for two or three times, and eventually works upwards of five or six repetitions.
Not only does interval training like this help to improve your mile time, but it also helps to boost your aerobic endurance, your VO2max, and your overall performance while running.
As a beginner, you’re going to want to choose your running pace carefully; you want it to be set at a speed that you can be consistent with, and you want to ensure that your rest periods are just as long as your work periods while on the treadmill. Not only will this help build your endurance base, but will also decrease the risk of injury. If possible, also try and spread out your training days if you’re new to running; once or twice a week to start (not back to back days) is enough to get your body on track to achieving your running goals!