Familiarize yourself with the incline button on your treadmill. If you’ve never tried incline training on the treadmill, you’ll want to locate this button and test-drive them before your workout. This is usually designated with an up and down arrow on the treadmill. Most treadmills offer inclines from zero, or no incline, to 15, which is a 15-degree incline.
Warm-up for five minutes on a one-percent incline. You can either walk or lightly jog at a speed of 2.5 to 4.5 mph as indicated on your treadmill. A 1-percent incline actually mimics running on flat ground by making up for the fact that there is no forward moving motion when you run in place, according to Fitness.
Increase the incline and speed after your warmup. To really engage those thigh muscles, you’ll want to increase the incline as much as possible. Getting all the way up to a 15-percent incline can be challenging, so incorporate interval training to get the most out of your workout.
Start with a high incline at a slower pace. Fitness suggests jumping right into your workout with a 15-percent incline at a slower pace of 2.5 to 3.5 mph for three minutes. Bring the incline down to 1-percent for two minutes, but keep the speed between 2.5 to 5.5 mph.
Add an interval of sprinting at a 1-percent incline. For the next six minutes, pick up the pace and sprint at 4.5 to 8.5 mph.
Keep your intensity steady and run at a pace of 2.5 to 6.5 mph at an incline of 6 percent for the next 30 seconds. Follow this sprint with a 30-second run at zero incline, keeping your speed the same.
Increase the incline to 8 percent, keeping your speed steady between 2.5 to 6.5 mph. This interval increases the intensity by increasing the incline for a total of 30 seconds. Keep the pace the same, but bring the incline back down to zero for the next 30 seconds.
Repeat the interval, but increase the incline to 10 percent for 30 seconds at the same pace. Follow your 30-second high incline run with a 2.5 minute zero-incline run. Your speed should remain between 2.5 and 6.5 mph.
Increase the incline to 1 percent for the next six minutes. You can alternate between sprinting and jogging, but keep the incline at 1 percent.
Bring your heart rate down. Keep your incline at 1 percent, but decrease your speed to a light jog for the next four minutes. Cool down for four minutes by walking 2.5 to 3.5 mph at a zero incline.
