Apart from helping you burn unwanted calories and keeping your body healthy, running on a treadmill can improve your running speed. It takes time, effort, and a whole lot of endurance to build up your muscles and increase your speed. You’ll also need to incorporate speed workouts into your daily routine, but over time, you can become stronger and faster. 

Benefits of Running on a Treadmill

Running on a treadmill has a number of health benefits:

Regularly using the treadmill can improve the blood circulation in the body, strengthen the heart, and maintain normal blood pressure. It helps regulate your cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of heart disease. 

Using the treadmill also helps people who have diabetes. In fact, using the treadmill every day for 20 minutes or more can stabilize blood glucose levels, so that diabetic patients can reduce or even completely eliminate medications from their daily diet. 

Working out on the treadmill regularly regulates your hormone cycle and helps you sleep better, which is one of the key factors in maintaining good health. 

Treadmills place less stress on the body than other workouts and are a great way for beginners to start exercising. Research indicates that exercising 5 days a week for 20 minutes or more is essential for our body – a run on the treadmill is an easy way to accomplish that. 

How to Increase Your Speed on the Treadmill 

The best way to increase your speed on the treadmill is by taking things one step at a time. 

Take it Slow

Start off at a lower speed for a short amount of time. Ideally, for the first few times, a brisk walk for 20 minutes will help loosen up your body. With each session, slightly increase the speed and the distance (or time, depending on what you’re tackling) you run. The idea is to slowly overload your body, letting it get used to the new pace, then overloading it again. 

Don’t Overdo It 

Not everyone has the same level of endurance. Some people might start off at a faster speed and be able to increase their running time and speed at a much faster rate than others.

The key is to make sure you listen to your body – don’t push it so far that you hurt yourself and won’t be able to run again.

If your runs on the treadmill are becoming significantly faster and longer, it is ideal to have a day or two of recovery somewhere in between your workout week. 

Build Stamina

Don’t just focus on increasing your speed; build some stamina as well. On some days, run at lower speeds for longer distances, so your body knows how to save energy for a long sprint. Towards the end of this workout, increase your speed until you run out of steam. Slow down gradually before coming to a halt. 

Treadmill Speed Workout for Beginners

The treadmill is a great way to incorporate speed workouts into your daily routine. In fact, you are likely to enjoy running on a treadmill more than other workouts since you regulate the room temperature and the environment you’re running in. 

Before you jump into increasing your speed on the treadmill, start off by building strength. Initially, run for longer distances at lower speeds, and once a week, incorporate a speed workout into your regimen. 

Increasing Your Speed with this 30-Minute Treadmill Workout 

This workout is suitable for anyone (even beginners) who is looking to increase their running speed:

Warming Up 

Start by just walking on the treadmill for 7 minutes. Over time, you can make this warm-up walk a light jog or run as your body develops more stamina. 

The Main Workout 

Run for 5 minutes at the maximum speed that your body can endure – your breathing should be heavy, but not so intense that you start gasping. 

For the next 13 minutes, sprint for a minute and then slowly jog (or walk if you’re new to using the treadmill) for the next 45 seconds. 

Over time, you can make this workout more challenging by increasing your sprint speed by 0.1 mph with each 1-minute sprint, so that by the end, your overall speed will have gone up by 1.0 mph. 

Cooling Down

Once the workout is complete, finish off with a 5-minute walk or jog, depending on what you’re comfortable with. The cool-down phase is important as your body uses this time to get rid of waste like lactic acid. During this time, your muscles are also provided with oxygenated blood, which speeds up the recovery process.

How Fast-Twitch Muscles Work to Make You Faster 

Fast-twitch muscle fibers are the most powerful and the largest ones in the body. They store a large portion of the body’s carbohydrates. They have a lower level of endurance than slow-twitch fibers, but are able to exert more force. 

Your fast-twitch muscles are of 2 types:

1. Type lla – the middle of the muscle fiber domain. They are less resistant to fatigue, but they help you exert greater muscular force, and they contract at a faster speed. 
2. Type llb – these are the last muscles activated during intense activities and give you the most amount of strength. 

With a faster running speed, more and more fast-twitch muscles become activated. 

You can train fast-twitch muscles by:

• Incorporating speed-interval workouts into your regimen
• Running on an incline 
• Sprint work 

These workouts won’t make you completely “ripped.” They will increase your body’s endurance, keep you in good shape, and make your muscles stronger. 

Conclusion

Essentially, running on the treadmill helps you increase your running speed and your body’s endurance. It is a great way to become a fast runner and simultaneously keep yourself safe from problems such as heart diseases, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels.

So what are you waiting for? Start working out now to be your best and most agile self.