How to Get Ripped (And Hate Your Life) In 10 Minutes or Less
Confession: I like treadmills.
I didn't expect this. I certainly didn't want to like them. But damn it if I'm not a fan.
I know it's grounds for losing my "hardcore workout" card. But I don't care. Not any longer. Not after seeing how a treadmill can kick my ass and help me burn fat.
You have to understand that I’ve never liked cardio equipment. In fact, whenever I hear the word "cardio" all I see are hundreds of people on treadmills and ellipticals watching TV and wasting time.
Those aren't real workouts, I tell myself. Real workouts should make you feel like you accomplished something. They should leave you out of breath, sweaty, and spent. They should be over fast.
So I avoided treadmills and instead did bodyweight circuits, sled pushes, and other "hardcore" things to burn fat, get my heart-rate up, and hate my life for short periods of time.
But then I discovered one protocol -- which I'll share below -- that changed my mind and actually had me searching for a treadmill in my new gym here in Portland, OR.
After trying this, you may just love treadmills too.
You have been warned.
How To Burn Fat, Get Ripped, and Hate Your Life
High-Intensity Treadmill Sprints
Treadmill sprints are a pain in the ass if you have to keep adjusting the speed and incline of the belt as you run, which is why I never did them. Then I visited Dr. John Berardi at his home last year and had my mind blown by how he gets around this problem. It's so simple, I don't know how I never thought of it before.
All you have to do is — get this — set the treadmill to your maximum speed, jump on the belt when it’s whirring underneath you, sprint, then jump back to the sides of the treadmill. Repeat until you’re tired and your legs feel like rubber.
Can’t get much safer than that.
Anyway, here’s the protocol from Berardi:
- Start the treadmill and walk slowly for 2 minutes.
- Increase the treadmill speed to 8.5 mph and the incline to 12% while standing on the sides of the treadmill.
- As soon as it's up to speed, sprint for 20 seconds.
- At the end of the 20 seconds, jump back on the side of the belt and rest for 10 seconds. (Grab the handrails. Trust me.)
- Repeat 10 times.
- Drop the speed and the incline and walk slowly for another 2 minutes.
Once you get past the "I'm gonna eat shit as soon as I step onto a moving treadmill" fear, you'll be fine. Just hold on to the rails, get your feet moving and then let go.
Warning: The first few sprints will seem too easy and you'll consider increasing the speed. Don't. Somewhere around sprint number 5 you'll curse yourself for ever thinking that.
Here's another tip from JB: To keep progressing, make one small improvement each time you do the workout. For example, increase the speed by 0.1 mph, the incline by 0.1%, or the number of sprints by 1. Improve in small increments each time and your body will continue to get leaner, stronger, and faster.
Bonus - Treadmill Pushes (Not what it sounds like.)
As I was getting ready to post this blog, I saw a video posted by Precision Nutrition’s Jay Bonn called “Treadmill Push.”
Check it out:
Jay got this idea from Keir Wenham-Flatt who first wrote about treadmill pushing as an alternative to pushing sleds on Elitefts.com. I haven’t tried it yet but you better believe it’ll happen this week.
Here’s a sample protocol from Bonn along with a few tips from Wenham-Flatt.
Bonn’s 4-Week Treadmill Push Protocol
Week 1: 15s : 45s work to rest ratio; 8 rounds
Week 2: 20s : 40s; 8 rounds
Week 3: 15s : 45s; 10 rounds
Week 4: 20s : 40s; 10 rounds
Treadmill Pushing Tips
- Start with the treadmill turned off
- Keep your arms stiff
- Lean forward and keep a stiff, neutral spine
- During the drive phase, “paw” at the belt, dragging it back.
- Increase the incline of the treadmill to make it harder
Comments for This Entry
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Cool workout, Nate! Much like you, I was never really a fan of cardio machines - it conjures up images of a grip of people jogging with poor technique for 45 minutes while watching CNN - but I'll definitely have to give it a try. I'm interesting in seeing more about the Treadmill Push because I don't have sleds at my gym. Is it at the same speed and incline as the Treadmill Sprints?
The treadmill should be turned off if you try the Push. You're using your feet to move the belt.
And the higher the incline, the harder it is. I suggest starting fairly flat.Nate Green
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I don't like treadmills. I mean, what's the point using electricity as you work out? Shouldn't you be *generating* electricity in the process? It makes no sense.
I think if you really want to run, you need to man (or woman) up and do it outside without any aids. In most cases it is a lot more fun. -
Great, as per usual. Thanks Nate!
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I hate running on treadmills too, but I've also done intervals like that for 10-15 minutes (not jumping off to the side though which is an awesome idea). That's my favorite way to do a fat-burning workout in a short time period. Great post!
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I've also never been a huge fan of treadmills, or running for that matter. But the treadmill pushes look promising. For makeshift sled pushing, I also use plates and exercise mats folded up and push those along a wood surface, works pretty well.
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That's the only type of cardio I could sanely do...
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Hey Nate-
I'm a fan of your articles and your workouts- and I can't say this one doesn't sound super effective, however I would recommend at the very least that you throw in a couple of disclaimers. Telling people to do something that goes explicitly against the recommendations of treadmill manufactures general safety protocol is an easy way to get buried in lawsuits. I think I will personally try out these ideas, but you should let readers know that they attempt it at their own risk. -
Wow, never thought of this. Could be a huge break through for me, and I'm going to give it a try sometime later this week. I can't really run or do much outside, so this is intriguing. Much more biomechanically friendly too since the belt isn't taking your leg back for you in the gait cycle.
Thanks Nate. -
So what new job do you have in Portland???
No new job. Just working with Precision Nutrition and on this here blog.
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Nate, I love it—I think you've actually discovered a way to set off the Planet Fitness "lunk alarm" with a treadmill!
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I picked up Treadmill Pushes from a conference years ago, and they've been great for me and my clients, but not so great for the treadmills.
Gym members can get away with it, but you should check your warranty if you plan on doing this at home (or if you're a trainer at a commercial gym). Certain brands of treadmills will fry in just a few sets. And the belts on some brands will slip immediately.
If it works on your treadmill, though - do it!Great points! Thanks for chiming in.
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I challenge this cardio style... ;-)
There is a guy who uses this type of interval training at the gym. He looks like he is going to fly back and smash into my machine every time he does this. Freaks me out. >.<
And really...does holding on to the handrails really do anything for the athlete?
I look at the incline-handrail-holding clients and wonder what kind of cardio the're really getting.
My 1.2 cents...let go, and yes, go as fast as you can...as steep as you can and let it burn for that minute of intensity. Your body definitely reacts over the gerbil wheel catch-up-on-your-reading mode.
~ Just a gym-rat who never stepped into a gym until 4 years ago...
Waiting with a smile for your response...Yes, I rock the boat all the time.
Love your blog :-) -
Hi Nate,
Thanks for the shout out. I'm glad you like the technique. It's great to see that nearly 2 years after I wrote that article people are still discovering the treadmill push and getting something out of it. If you fancy a change you can also perform this technique in reverse or in a bear crawl position.
By the way, I really liked your Hero Handbook. A great read.
Take it easy,
Keir -
The holding on is just to steady yourself and get going again. I am lucky enough to have a really great trainer who loves to see me suffer, and intervals on the treadmill is a sure fire winner there!
Love the blog Nate,
Ishbel -
Gd post Nate. I've tried this workout before( I think I saw it on either PN website or Chad Waterburys. It is an awesome session that everyone should try. I call the tm pushes bobsleigh runs, haven't tried them at an incline before so looking forward to it. Cool runnings mon!!!
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Great Post Nate. I do have to second what Stephen Holt said above.The last time I checked Treadmill Pushes will pretty quickly burnout the motor on all treadmills. They just aren't designed for that.
I've done interval sprints before by changing the speed and I've been OK with it, but also because I was afraid of planting my face doing it your way. I'll do them anyway just because you said so ;-). The intervals that is and not the face planting. . . hopefully. -
Great post Nate. I'm blown away that people are just "now" discovering this stuff. I've been applying tabatas and this type of approach since 1999 and it keeps me lean "all year round"....with proper nutrition - of course.
Funny thing is all the "certified" personal trainers ragged on me back then saying I was full of it when I told them they could burn more fat in 12 min than a full hour of traditional boring cardio....
to this day...they STILL wanna debate and argue...what even funnier is they are STILL fat and I'm still ripped! Just sayin'.
Exercise is the stimuli....the results occur while we rest and nourish. Bottom line: If you act like marathon runner...you'll "look" like one. If you ACT like a sprinter...you'll "look" like one.
Keep bringing it! -
Good article Nate. Another way I like to do these is to run them as a ladder. Ill start at 9 mph and 0 incline, raising the incline 1-2 percent each round. Once I get to the top level incline I increase the speed and drop the incline and repeat for 15-20 minutes. Give it a shot!
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Hey Nate:
I lifted this from your blog post "21 Things that make life awesome" awhile back, and have been using it as my primary form of cardio ever since. I tried the 20:10 work to rest @ 8.5 instead of 15:15 @8.o that you recommended before for the first time tonight and nearly died. Thanks for the kick in the ass. Quick question: for a thinner guy on a MWF workout plan that switches up every 3 weeks (so it's hard for me to tell you when I'm doing my heavy leg work, bc it varies), when/how often do you recommend doing this? I remember reading something on Coach Paul where JB mentions he did sprints on his off days... is that every off day? Never after heavy leg days?
Thanks for everything, bro. You've been an inspiration.
Dave -
for those of you who don't want to brave jumping on a treadmill at full speed, this can also be done on bikes, full on max effort for 15 seconds then 45 seconds of 50%
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I love sprints, but like you mentioned, I hate having to constantly turn the speed up and down. I'll give this a shot soon and see how I do. Treadmill pushing sounds fun, too. I can't wait to get some funny looks for doing this shit while the cardio hamsters gawk, and watch their soap opera or whatever.
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I have been doing these sprints for a while, just cause there are no good hills around where I live and love it. Doing 3 full body compound only weights sessions per week and finishing up with these got my to my leanest I have ever been. At 36. and beating all the 20 year olds at the gym in 10km runs without doing any other running than these sprints. it works!
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Great article Nate! Another great alternative to sled pushes that I used to use with my clients is take a bosu ball and put 1 or 2 45# plates on it and push it as many times as possible, its brutal as hell! Keep up the great work
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Yes! I have been my treadmill workouts this way for quite some time now. I will do 45-60 second sprints with about 60-120 seconds rest in between. I usually set the incline from 1/2 to 3/4 and start at about 10mph. I do them this way to more closely mimic hard shifts on the ice. (important tip: don't do an upper body workout before hand. lol)
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Have been using treadmill pushes for a couple of years now with my clients, now affectionately known as pukers as I like to throw them in right at the end of a session which can lead to a hasty rush to the toilets / puke bucket. Awesome exercise!! Also try with sets of explosive/clap press ups in between pushes to truly mess you up!!
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Still dislike gyms. A park or home is the best place for me. Better air, my conditions, it's cheaper too.
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Hm, an interesting short-version of what I have recently started doing. I go for roughly 20 mins high intensity. I start with a warm up of 2 min 3mph walk, 2-3 min 6mph jog. That's the warmup. Then I start at 7 mph and go 1 set of 30 sec on, 30 sec rest. Increase to 8 mph and repeat 30 on and 30 off for 2 sets. Onto 9 mph for 3 sets of 30 on 30 off. Lastly, I do 10 mph for 4 sets 30 on 30 off. This is usually where I stop, as I am dying on these last ones. That's 10 sets total of increasing speed and sets. Occasionally I up the incline randomly if I feel like a challenge.
What's your opinion on cardio during bulking? Completely useless or just once in a while?
Thanks and cheers! -
If I do this after lifting sessions, will it hinder my recovery big time?
Is this strictly an off day protocol? -
I used to have to do the treadmill sprints for a football workout. They would have the treadmill at a high incline and we would have to run as fast as we could to stay up at high speeds. No harness, nothing, just the will not to fall is all that kept us up. Than at the end of the training we got a chance to join the Cheetah Club, which is where you hop on a treadmill at 20 mps and try and run for 6 seconds. I made it to five before I tripped. Luckily my trainer caught me before I fell on the treadmill but the workouts were great and you could defiantly see we were all getting leaner with in couple weeks of training.
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Jay Bonn is a monster. That is all.
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Grappling with the details of so many different individual policies can lead to a strong urge to pick the next one that sounds halfway reasonable. But halfway isn't good enough.
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Nate, I went to the gym today planning on doing this work out. When I got there I forgot what the protocol was, but remembered the basic structure. I did 1 min intervals on and 1 min off. Repeated for 10 sets. It was absolutely brutal, but awesome. I agree with some of the other commenters that this goes against ALL treadmill rules/guidelines. Additionally, If some one has questionable hips they should avoid this. As expected there is a very strong tug in the first few strides when you hop back on. Otherwise, I'm going to try to work this in or the treamill push at the end of a work out.
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For those who looking to tone up in 2012, your treadmill work out could be something worthwhile for them to try. Thank you for posting some tips and a video.
COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
Anthony Yeung 11:08am Jan 9, 2012