Last updated on May 25th, 2022 at 04:07 pm
There are lots of benefits of outdoor walking, but one big advantage that treadmill walking has is that you can control the incline. This means that you can increase the intensity of your workout without increasing your pace. Walking on an incline also challenges the glute (butt) and core muscles more. This treadmill challenge will get you started with incline walking. It starts with no incline in the first week and build up to 25 minutes at a 10% incline in 6 weeks.
Before you do the treadmill challenge
The starting point is being able to walk continuously at a normal pace for 20 minutes. If 20 minutes is too much for you, then aim to improve on this first before starting the challenge.
Although walking is a safe and natural activity, please check these general safety guidelines before starting.
All the walking is at a normal pace. For the average person, normal walking speed is about 3mph/5kmh. If necessary, adjust this up or down to your own normal walking pace. You should always warm up and cool down by walking without an incline, as shown in the schedules below. You can download a printable the full 6 week schedule at the end of the post.
6 week treadmill challenge
The challenge is based on walking 3 times a week, preferably on non-consecutive days.
Week 1
Week 1 walks are with no incline (0%).
Week 2
Week 2 introduces an incline at 2%. From week 2 onwards, the walks follow the same pattern: walk 1 has 15 minutes at an incline, walk 2 has 20 minutes and walk 3 has 25 minutes. The amount of incline increases each week, but the warm up and cool down are always with no incline.
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Get a printable copy of the treadmill challenge
Sign up for My Fitness Planner updates and get the free printable download link e-mailed to you:
After you sign up, you’ll get 3 e-mails:
The first will ask you for a one-click confirmation of your subscription
Once you’ve confirmed, you’ll get a second e-mail with a link to your download and a separate welcome e-mail