One-Hour Workout: Treadmill Hill Pyramid Quick Set

Short on time? Knock out this killer treadmill set for speedy aerobic activation. 

This week’s workout comes from Alison Kreideweis, a 2x USAT All-American, 2x Team USA member, and co-founder of the Empire Tri Club in New York City. Alison is USAT, USATF, NASM, Mad Dogg, and Schwinn Cycling-certified, with specialty certifications in pre- and post-natal training. She has been competing and coaching for 17 years.

Sometimes even an hour is tough to fit into the day—when that’s the case, turn to a home or gym treadmill for a solid workout to get your heart rate going. “Spice up your treadmill workouts by varying the speed and incline to significantly reduce boredom and give you the most bang for your buck,” Kreideweis says. “You don’t need to spend countless hours at the gym to see results. A high intensity 30-minute sweat session can fire up your metabolism and help you burn extra calories for several hours after your workout too.”

For the “FAST” intervals, you should be at a Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) around 8-9, or heart rate zone 5. Do your recovery at a very easy pace, and bring the incline down to zero. Because of the speed on this workout, do this well-recovered, but because of the length, you won’t necessarily need many days to rest post-workout. This is a great workout to gradually move into the speed training you’ll see toward the middle-end of the season, but don’t do this too close to an important race.

For an added challenge, either add a 4- and 5-minute pyramid interval in the middle or repeat the set to your desired workout length.

Warm-up:

10-minute jog, slowly increasing your speed to a 10k race pace.

Main Set:

1 min FAST @ 5% incline
1 min recovery @ 0% incline
2 min FAST @ 4%
2 min recovery @ 0%
3 min FAST @ 3%
3 min recovery @ 0%
2 min FAST @ 4%
2 min recovery @ 0%
1 min FAST @ 5%
1 min recovery @ 0%

Cool down:

5-minute jog

More one-hour workouts