Ready for a run that will get your heart pumping for 30 minutes?

I went to the gym on my lunch break today with zero reading material. I just wanted to put on my headphones, and run. Fast.

So I bring you the Speedy HIIT Treadmill Run. (Adjust the speeds to suit you)

Running at 10.0 mph on a treadmill is a 6:00 minute mile. I felt like a badass running at the speed (even if it was only for 20 seconds at a time). You will too. The last couple of HIIT runs I completed, I made my sprint at around 9.5. Today I felt like pushing myself. Try it – for 20 seconds, you can do anything.

If you’re not familiar with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), the New York Times has a great article here.The article also gives a very simple explanation of it:

Basically it’s alternating short bursts of high-intensity exercise with easy-does-it recovery. For decades, serious athletes have used it to improve performance. But new evidence suggests that a workout with steep peaks and valleys can dramatically improve cardiovascular fitness and raise the body’s potential to burn fat. Best of all, the benefits become evident in a matter of weeks.

I will attest to the fact that it really helps wth speed. It’s a pain to be crazy attentive to the treadmill’s time (when usually we’re trying not to look at it), but it also makes the time fly by. Since the marathon I’ve been incorporating 25 minutes of HIIT into my runs (one run a week), as well as a tempo run once a week, and I’ve already seen my splits get faster. My (Hello 10 glorious sub-9:00 miles on Sunday!) My plan is to keep up a HIIT run, and a tempo run twice a week, and hopefully bash that 1:50 1/2 Marathon Goal in the first half of this year!

An added bonus? You get all of the heart-pumping benefits of a looooong run, without having to be on the treadmill for an hour. 30 minutes and you’re warmed up, HIIT-ed, cooled down, and ready to go.

After HIIT-ing for 25 minutes, I cooled down with a 6-minute walk (at a very, very slow speed). I was a red-faced, sweaty mess, but I felt amazing. A lovely shower (and a pat on the back for getting into the locker rooms before the yoga and spin classes got out), and I was back in the office within an hour.

Efficient lunch indeed.

Hope you have a Happy Tuesday!