The Ultimate Treadmill Workout: Run Right, Hurt Less, and Burn More with Treadmill Interval Training

I can't say that I really buy and read fitness related books that often - but treadmills are a passion of mine and I was already familiar with who David Siik is so I was intrigued. The book itself is well written, and is a blend of stories from his past (usually used to put something in the upcoming chapter in context), along with the thought process behind his workout philosophy (called BITE), and then the technical nitty gritty of how to actually use it in a workout. The first half of the book is comprised of chapters describing BITE, and then the last half is two workout progressions - if you're unfamiliar with a progression, it's a predefined series of workouts going over some period of time. In this case he includes 2 progressions, one that is a 3 week (3 workouts per week) 'Kickstarter' to get you dialed in and ready to run. The second is a 6 week (3 workouts per week again) to help you improve your skills and become a better running. I've read all of them, but I've only actually done a couple of the Kickstarter workouts, but it's easy to see how they all fit together. One of the things that really sets his progressions apart from others that I've seen is the diversity of the workouts - while they all share the same BITE roots, they all run really differently from eachother, which is really impressive. They also start out in the ~20 min range, but by the end they're closer to the ~35 min range (at least for the Kickstarter).In the process of actually doing the runs, I did run into some confusion - so I'll share what stumped me initially, and what I believe the solutions are. The first was how he actually formats the workouts - they're in a spreadsheet kind of format, but what threw me off is that each line generally represents both a work interval AND the recovery interval. Initially when I was reading them, I didn't realize that the last column was basically just describing what you should do for a recovery (although in almost all cases it's 60 seconds at a 'recovery' pace). This leads to the second point of confusion for me - and that was what should be the appropriate recovery speed. Unlike the work segments, where he gives examples of what the speeds should be, you need to remember that a couple chapters earlier he defined recovery as basically 50% of your first work intervals speed. In practice, I found this to be a bit uncomfortable pace for me (too fast to walk, but to slow to really jog), so I changed it to 55% of my PB (this is your Personal Best speed you can run for 60 seconds). For a real world example, if your PB was 8mph and the first interval was 7mph, his recommended recovery is 50%, so 3.85mph - but for me, that's a really fast walk or super slow jog, so no good. At 55% of PB it's at 4.4mph, To be fair, he actually talks about this exact issue, and his workout is basically the same as mine - just make it slower or faster until it's comfortable, but it's worth pointing out.Now, on the topic of his BITE philosophy, I routinely do both HIIT and LISS workouts all the time, and at it's core BITE is somewhere inbetween although closer to HIIT. The premise is that you soften the HIIT a bit, so it's a bit longer, but what that gains you is a much less stressful (on your body) workout - so you're less likely to get injuries, etc. To me it makes sense, and some of the workouts I was doing before were basically BITE without knowing it - but I made them without any particular methodology whereas you can see exactly what he's trying to accomplish with each one. Either way, I'm a believer. ;)About the only thing I don't agree with that he says is watching TV while running - for me, that's basically a critical component, but I also have the benefit that I can write the progressions into my treadmill so it does the work and I just have to keep up. If it weren't for that, I would agree with him, as the workouts themselves have changes typically every minute or so, and really wouldn't give the opportunity to zone out and still get an effective workout.So in summary, buy the book! ;) If you're at all interested in treadmills, and really getting the most out of them that you can, then you really do yourself a disservice by not buying this book and tuning your workout.

This is a great, short, quick read that gets right to the meat of the book. The interval program. I bought this because I'm 60 and I run on treadmills to save my joints so I can keep running. I've always used treadmills but only do steady runs. But, being old, I can't just keep adding miles, I now need them to be smart miles, and smart miles are interval miles. Yesterday was my first day I used the book and it felt really good to challenge my body in this new way. I'm not an interval runner. I don't do speed because I don't have fast-twitch muscles...none! But I don't mind speedwork on a treadmill as much as a track, so this book is perfect for my situation. And it was great!I do have some suggestions if you're going to use this book1) If you're older like me, take extra time to warm up. Us old guys need it. I do 10 minutes of starting with a walk and taking it to a slow jog before I run. (3.0 to 5.0 mph on my treadmill.)2) Make sure your shins aren't tight. If you're not used to doing inclines, the fast pace and incline combined can really put a strain on them. Make sure that shins are part of your stretching routine.3) I created a spreadsheet of the workout instead of using the book. It's much better for tracking history, it puts all of the segments on one sheet, and you can still make a place to write your daily notes.4) My treadmill isn't programmable so I put each segment on a separate, large Post-It Note. I stick those to the treadmill dashboard, next to the display and controls. When I finish a segment, I tear off the top note and the next segment is right there. It's the only way I could think of to know what changes to make.5) Get Joe Friel's "Fast After 50" to go with this if you want to understand the physiological necessity of interval training for older adults. It's a great book that goes perfectly with this book. If you're old and still care about your run / race times.The first day of the Three Week Kick Starter section was great and I look forward to my next run.03/29/2017: Second run day after an "off" day. Wow. I ended up going .5 mph over my current treadmill PB, and this increase was with a 3% incline. The program just proved that I haven't been pushing myself hard enough. I feel good knowing I'll get faster because the program is going to challenge me to work harder. I'm totally good with that!04/05/2017: Still lovin' this program. I believe I'm getting stronger, but I have no proof yet. I think I'm going to find out what a good VO2 Max test and a good lactate threshold test is to take on a treadmill so I can track any performance gains. I'll say this about the program, I'm more motivated to go run and to run hard, than I've been in a very long time. Buy this book!

I never write reviews but this is worth writing one for as I’m always influenced by other people’s reviews. This is simply a brilliant work out plan. I hate running outside, much prefer the treadmill but it can get boring and I wasnt progressing with my speeds/times. There is NO time to be bored with these workouts and I can feel the difference already. You’re so busy changing speeds and inclines and switching between running and recovering that there’s no time to get bored. I absolutely love it and would recommend it 100%. I’m sitting here writing this, purple in the face and sweating buckets after a workout that flew by yet had my heart rate almost at max after running at 13.2kmph at a 5% incline (impressive for me!).The only thing worth noting is that the plans are in mph. My treadmill only does kmph so I’ve had to do some conversions but even that is a positive - get my brain working.It’s suitable for all abilities - beginners through to the super fit - as it’s all based on the best speed that you can run for 1min.I have MS and altered sensations in my legs. If I can do this training plan and love it, I think everyone can.

This programme of training has taken my running to a level I never thought possible. I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about improving their treadmill running.

Excellent book for the beginner using a treadmill. Even high mileage expert runners will benefit from this book.Highly recommended.

If you want effective training on the treadmill this is your guide. David Siik is Incredible

Il libro in se non è scritto male... di certo non è cio che aspettavo. Spiega in maniera generica la metodologia di allenamento e fornisce un programma generale. Avevo acquistato il libro nella speranza desse almeno qualche spiegazione su base scientifico di questo metodo, ma a quanto pare non esiste, ne nella letteratura italiana ne in quella internazionale. sto valutando se darlo indietro.