Running

Running is the most accessible cardio there is, no skill barrier, minimal equipment, and it scales from an easy recovery jog to a hard tempo effort. As steady-state conditioning it builds your aerobic base, supports fat loss in a calorie deficit, and improves your work capacity for everything else you do. On a treadmill you can hold a precise, steady pace, which makes tempo and steady runs easy to control and progress.

How to Perform

1. Warm up with 3-5 minutes of easy walking or light jogging.
2. Bring the treadmill to your target pace. For a steady or tempo run, that is an effort you can hold for the whole duration, comfortably hard, not a sprint.
3. Run tall with a slight forward lean from the ankles, a relaxed upper body, and arms swinging from the shoulders.
4. Aim for a quick, light cadence and land with your foot under your body rather than reaching out in front.
5. Hold your pace for the prescribed time, then finish with a few minutes of easy walking to cool down.

Tips

• For steady-state work, keep the effort around an RPE of 6-7, conversational-to-slightly-labored.
• Add a 1% incline on the treadmill to better mimic the effort of running outdoors.
• Progress by adding time at the same pace, or holding the time and increasing the pace slightly.