The Deadmill
I’ve tried it all, stair sprints, rowing, plyometrics, battling ropes… there’s not another form of cardio out there that’s as physically and mentally taxing as the deadmill.
“SJ, I’m not sure if my gym has a deadmill for me to use though!”
Any treadmill can be quickly turned into a deadmill.
Simply turn off the treadmill via the power button or unplug the 3 pin power cord from the wall if necessary (check with your gym first!).
Should you decide you want to take it up a notch and perform incline deadmill sprints (not for beginners!) you’re going to want to adjust the treadmill to your desired incline before pulling out the 3 pin power cord from the wall – from my experience if you turn off the treadmill via the power button it’ll return itself to a neutral incline before actually powering off.
Getting It Going…. Your Deadmill Sprint Form
The belt on a treadmill is far harder to move when the treadmill is off than you probably expect.
In order to get it moving grasp onto the handles or sides of your treadmill and begin to drive through your legs to get the belt moving – you’re going to keep a firm grip on the treadmill for the duration of your deadmill intervals.
Between your intervals simply remain in place on the treadmill, ready to get the belt cranking again for your next interval (the rest duration in the HIIT workouts we’re going to be performing are quite minimal – this is ideal for increasing your conditioning and burning a ton of calories!).
Deadmill HIIT Workouts
Give the following deadmill HIIT workouts a try, regardless of your current fitness level there’s a deadmill workout for you.
Want to make a workout easier or harder based on your ability?
- Increase/decrease your sprint time and decrease/increase your rest time
- Add more intervals to your workout
- Increase or lower the incline of your treadmill
Beginners:
10 second deadmill sprint
20 second rest
Repeat x 8
20 second deadmill sprint
20 second rest
Repeat x 6
15 second deadmill sprint
30 second rest
Repeat x 8
20 second deadmill sprint
20 second rest
Repeat x 8
Advanced:
20 second deadmill sprint
10 second rest
Repeat x 8
30 second deadmill sprint
20 second rest
Repeat x 10
10 second deadmill sprint
10 second rest
Repeat x 20
45 second deadmill sprint
45 second rest
Repeat x 6