5 Best Treadmill Incline Hill Workouts

Treadmill incline hill workouts are a great way to increase the intensity of your runs and challenge yourself. They're also great for continually improving your sprinting efficiency. As they're done indoors, you can perform them any time of year, no matter what the weather be like.

If you don't like running on a treadmill, adding hills (or speed intervals) to your run can help to spice things up and make it more enjoyable.

When you're jogging uphill, your body has to work harder to keep up with the pace. Compared to a steady state of running, you burn more calories during your workout.

If you want to keep your body guessing, the optimal treadmill incline hill workout will have varying pace and incline. Starting at your normal running pace and gradually increasing the slope by 0.5% every 1-2 minutes is an easy way to get started with inclines.

Another alternative is to increase the gradient by 2-5% and jog for 1-3 minutes at a certain grade before returning to level terrain for the same length of time.

Must-try treadmill incline hill workouts

Attempting to run at a faster-than-normal speed can produce stride abnormalities for inexperienced runners, as well as raise the risk of injury if done too frequently. When you increase the incline on a treadmill, you can enhance the intensity of your workout while keeping the speed the same.

If you're new to treadmill incline hill workouts, you'll want to push yourself a little, but not too much. If any of the suggested incline levels are too difficult for you, reduce them to one that is comfortable for you.

Here are the top five treadmill incline hill exercises to try:

1) Steady state hill workout

This is one of the great treadmill incline hill workouts to start with. It helps in building endurance and strength for running.

Here’s how to do it:

Warm up by jogging or walking for five minutes at a comfortable pace with a 1% incline.
Set an incline to create the illusion of a modest, gradual hill. Starting with 1.5-2.5% is a good option, but there is no 'perfect' range; it will depend on your experience and fitness level. For 20-25 minutes, run at a comfortable speed (about half-marathon pace) at this incline.
Cool down by jogging at a 1% incline for five minutes.

2) 4 x 4 hill workout

When you are working on a treadmill incline hill, increase your pace and inclination gradually. The 4 x 4 is a great option to slowly get into the momentum.

Here’s how to do it:

Warm up for five minutes by jogging or walking at a decent pace with a 1% incline.
Make the inclination 4%. For four minutes, run at a comfortable to moderately difficult speed (about 10K to half-marathon pace).
For four minutes, drop the gradient to 1%, and slow down to a comfortable jog.
This should be repeated four more times.
Finish by running for five minutes at a 1% inclination to cool down.

3) Long hills

This is a treadmill incline hill routine for you if you're preparing for a race with a lot of lengthy, rolling climbs. Although the elevation isn't as severe, each interval is prolonged enough to feel the burn towards the finish.

Here's how to do it:

Warming up with a 10–15-minute jog.
Work out: 4 × 1/2 mile (800m) at a 4% incline with a five-minute jog break in between. That should be a slower pace than the steep hills; it should be tough but manageable. Concentrate on keeping your form for the duration of the interval.
Cool down with a ten-minute easy jog and some light stretching.

4) Fast hills

This treadmill incline hill workout is terrific for speed and power and is similar to a classic hill-repeat workout. Start with a 4-5% inclination if you're new to hill repeats, but more elite riders can go up to 6-8%.

Here's how to do it:

Warming up with a 10–15-minute jog.
Work out: 6 × 60-90 seconds at a 5K-10K pace, followed by 2-3 minutes of rest. Aim for a 5K speed if you're performing the shorter sprints and a 10K pace if you're doing the lengthier one.
Cool down with some light stretching and an easy jog for ten minutes.

5) Mindfully long hill workout

This treadmill incline hill workout focuses on running consciously, getting into the flow of hill running and increasing hill endurance.

Here’s how to do it:

Warm up by going for a two-minute stroll.
Run for eight minutes at a leisurely pace.
Rep three more times: In the Yellow Zone or Zone 2 for heart rate, run 1600m at a 3% gradient at an easy effort. Run two minutes at a quicker but controlled (Orange Zone or Zone 3 heart rate) exertion after each mile to imitate the speed of running downhill. Before going on to the next rep, run one minute easy (Yellow Zone) at 0%.
Do five minutes of easy running
Take a two-minute walk to relax.