We’ve seen plenty of HIIT workouts. We’ve also seen plenty of hill repeats show up in training plans. Some of the best treadmill workouts we’ve put together have been Incline Intervals. If you’re looking for a challenge to your next workout, or want to spice up your training plan with a new type of run, then this is the post for you.

Incline Intervals Explained

Interval training includes bursts of all-out speed and effort followed by cool-down periods, repeated multiple times to form a workout. Incline intervals are a slight twist on this, because they incorporate different types of challenges in both the fast/slow sets. While the downtime is used to catch your breath, doing so while walking at a steep incline on your treadmill will allow you to work other areas of your body while you recover from the all-out push.

Suggested Structure

An Incline Interval workout follows this basic structure:

• Walk for 4 minutes at a steep incline, at least 12%, with a speed of 3mph. Don’t go lower than 3mph unless you absolutely have to. Also don’t go any faster, because doing so will likely get you to start jogging and you really need to be walking this during this part of the cycle.

• Run for 1 minute at a decent pace, about 7mph, at a low incline anywhere from 1-3%

That five-minute interval can be repeated 5 or 6 times to get to 30-minutes. We don’t recommend going much longer than that. Any interval training should include some all-out phases of work, so if you feel like you have more energy after thirty minutes, then you probably didn’t hit the intervals hard enough! Make sure you are going all out on the 1-minute runs with enough steam to tire you out after 5 or 6 sets.

Stick to Walk/Run

Balancing a steep walk with a hard run is what makes an Incline Interval workout special. We recommend sticking to this structure as best you can. You can of course make slight changes to the structure that is laid out, such as only going to 10% during the walk phase if that’s all you can do. You can also adjust the speed of the run if 7mph is too much or too little. But try to stick to the 4 minutes walking, 1 minute running as best you can in order to get maximum benefits from this workout.

Taking the basics of interval training and combining them with hill repeats is a great way to get all of the benefits of both workouts, while also jumpstarting your fat burning potential. This workout allows for you to rest and recover in between the runs, without having to slow all the way down. This unique combination is what gives you the ability to burn more calories over the entire thirty minutes.