I own a treadmill and I absolutely love it. I know that some think walking on a treadmill is boring. At least if you are walking outside you get to enjoy the scenery. The treadmill is seen as something you do while staring at the walls. I used to think the same thing. I got tired pretty quickly of looking for cracks in the wall or following the trail of a spider-web.
So I found things to do on the treadmill. I usually start off and end at a slower speed for my warm-up and cool-down. During that time I read. I’m walking at a pace that is slow enough that the words aren’t bouncing up and down. It may only be 5 or 10 minutes but that’s enough to get some much enjoyable reading time in. Sometimes I will also use my warm-up or cool-down times to thumb through a magazine or send a text message.
During the more rigorous portion of walking on my treadmill I have watched television. It’s a good way to catch up on the latest news or enjoy your favorite sitcom. My treadmill isn’t located near a television anymore so instead I listen to my iPod. I used to always struggle with looking at my counter to see how much time was left. You know the old saying that a watched pot never boils? Well that is certainly true with staring at the counter on your treadmill. So now I use my iPod as a way to avoid that. I start a song and I either sing it out loud (if no one else is home) or to myself and won’t look at the counter until the song is done. This is probably a psychological thing I am doing but it works. When the song ends then I look at how much time is left and I am usually pleasantly surprised at how much time has passed, particularly when I have listened to a longer song.
Finally, another idea you might try is using hand weights while walking on the treadmill. You have to be careful, however. If you are going at a high pace, unless you are extremely coordinated, it might not be a good idea. When I am going at a mid-pace I will use my hand weights to exercise my arms. It keeps my focus off the walking and onto my arms.
Walking on a treadmill doesn’t have to be boring. You can get creative with it and find ways to make walking on one more interesting. I would love to hear from other readers, some ideas you may have in making the treadmill more exciting.
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