20 Minute Treadmill Routine to Boost Cardio

Stamina building 20 minute treadmill routine

Heres a great 20 minute treadmill routine you can do 1x a week to improve stamina, cardiovascular endurance and aerobic ability.  Make sure to listen to your body and slow down if you need to, but if you’re feeling skippy and energized that day, give it a little extra push and go for that extra little kick at the end. Feel free to even speed up more if you have it in you!

Use these guidelines to help you start.

The below are baseline speeds for walkers and runners for any drills on the treadmill. If you’re a runner, always set the treadmill at 1% incline to mimic the outdoors. Walkers, to get the best effect, set your treatmill 2% higher than runners, so set yours at 3% to start. If you are an experienced runner you can set your baseline speed higher than the baselines below.  Get to know your body and yourself on the treadmill before jumping into higher speeds. Be sure to let go of the handrails as you want to keep proper form, keep arm swing and gait as natural as possible.

The workout: 

Warmup                               5-15 minutes

Increase pace .2mph          30 seconds

Increase pace by .2mph     30 seconds

Return to baseline speed   30 (recovery time)

Repeat 5 to 10 times for a total of 5 to 10 minutes of speed intervals with 1:00 breaks.

Cool down and walk for desired time.

The stronger you feel, the more intervals you can add. If you start feeling good, add another interval each week.  You can even start to add another interval of .2 and make it a 1:30 speed interval with a :30 recovery.  Your heart will thank you, and so will your body!