Turkey Day Treadmill Workouts
No time for an official turkey trot? Do your own treadmill workout on Thanksgiving to create room for the cornucopia of caloric options.
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No time for an official turkey trot? Do your own indoor treadmill workout on Thanksgiving morning to create room for the cornucopia of caloric options you’re about to feast on. These three belt busters (get it?) can all be done in 60 minutes or less.
Note: Keep the incline at 1 percent unless told otherwise.
Pumpkin Pie Pick-Ups
All aboard the gravy train with this 60-minute interval workout. (Based on 6.0 or 10:00 min/mile being an easy, conversational jogging pace—adjust as necessary).
Warmup: 10 mins
Start running easy at 6.0, increasing the pace by .1 every two minutes. (2 mins at 6.0, 2 mins at 6.1, 2 mins at 6.2, 2 mins at 6.3, 2 mins at 6.4)
Main set: 40 mins
Run 2×3 min, 3×2 min, 6×1 min with 2 mins jogging recovery (6.0) after each. The shorter the interval, the faster the pace. The 2×3 should be moderate (6.5-6.8), then moderate hard for 3×2 (6.8-7.1), then hard for 6×1 (7.1-7.5).
Cooldown: 10 mins easy
The Gobble Hobble
Knock the stuffing out with this 45-minute hill workout.
Warmup: 15 mins
Run easy but add in 4×30 sec pickups that are at least .5 faster than your initial pace, with as much recovery as you want.
The Long Rolling Hill: 15 mins
Follow these incline grades and intervals for 15 minutes.
0-2:00: 1.5 incline, easy
2-2:30: 4.0 incline, fast
2:30-4:00: 1.5 incline, easy
4-4:45: 4.0 incline, fast
4:45-7:00: 1.5 incline, easy
7-8:00: 4.0 incline, fast
8-11:00: 1.5 incline, easy
11-11:30: 4.5 incline, fast
11:30-13:00: 1.5 incline, easy
13-13:45: 4.5 incline, fast
13:45-15: 1.5 incline, easy
Cooldown: 15 mins
Run easy with 4×30 sec pickups at the same pace or faster than your warmup intervals.
The Turkey 20
20 minutes
If you’re really short on time, a concentrated 20 minutes can still help make a dent.
Warmup: 4 mins easy
Main set: 13 mins
Boost incline up to 2 percent and do 2×60 sec fast with 60 sec recovery after each (all at an incline). Change the incline to 1 percent for 2 minutes. Increase incline to 3 percent and do 3×30 sec fast with 30 sec recovery. Change incline back to 1 percent for 2 minutes. Finish at 4 percent with 4×15 sec fast with 15 sec recovery.
Cooldown: 3 mins easy