At the gym this morning, I took a cue from Ryan and decided to incorporate some intense incline walking into my treadmill workout. I wasn’t feeling particularly creative, so I asked him what workout he was doing and loosely mimicked his plan.
Ryan began at an 8.0 incline and increased the incline on his treadmill by 1.0 every minute until he got to a 15.0 incline, while still maintaining a 4.0 pace. That seemed a bit intense for my liking and I wanted to included some running in my workout, so I changed things up a bit and completed the following 35-minute session:
| Minutes | Pace | Incline |
| 0-5 | 6.5 | 1.0 |
| 5-6 | 4.0 | 8.0 |
| 6-7 | 4.0 | 9.0 |
| 7-8 | 4.0 | 10.0 |
| 8-9 | 4.0 | 11.0 |
| 9-10 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| 10-15 | 6.5 | 1.0 |
| 15-16 | 4.0 | 8.0 |
| 16-17 | 4.0 | 9.0 |
| 17-18 | 4.0 | 10.0 |
| 18-19 | 4.0 | 11.0 |
| 19-20 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
| 20-30 | 6.5 | 1.0 |
| 30-31 | 4.0 | 8.0 |
| 31-32 | 4.0 | 9.0 |
| 32-33 | 4.0 | 10.0 |
| 33-34 | 4.0 | 11.0 |
| 34-35 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
(If you’re a fan of mixing up running with incline walking, you may also enjoy this workout.)
While I was running, the song “Bicycle Race” by Queen started blasting. I find it ironic that I love listening to a song about riding a bike when I’m running. “I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my biiiiike.” It’s a good one.
I rounded out my workout with five minutes on the rowing machine and 10 minutes on the elliptical.
Breakfast
I have a meeting scheduled for 11 a.m. at Starbucks today and figured I would probably order a Frappuccino to enjoy at that time. Everything in my head said not to make a smoothie for breakfast this morning since I’d be sipping on something cold and creamy again in a few hours… but you know how that goes.
The minute I tell myself I can’t have something or shouldn’t eat something, I want even more.
And so I had it.
Hooray for smoothies! 
You better believe I licked the cup clean.
Time to make my first cup of coffee from our new coffee maker!
Question of the Morning
If you tell yourself that you shouldn’t eat/buy/do a certain thing, does it make you more or less likely to do it?
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i’m absolutely more inclined to do/consume something i tell myself not to. this is why i think diets do not work!
I agree! When i restrict myself from certain foods, i’m much more likely to binge on them.
That’s why the key is everything in moderation!
amen, sister!
saw this one first off the bat and had to join the rest and agree all the way!
great workout there julie! incline/hill workouts always kick my butt. usually i’m like you and want to do some more running so i play more with the speed vs. the distance. but i know i should do more hill type work because it’s great at building strength. have a great meeting! 🙂
Ryan is a beast with that run…good god! 😉
i know. he’s ridiculous. he has been on a kick where he’s been brainstorming new workouts and telling them to me the night before and every single one he describes makes me want to die.
“The minute I tell myself I can’t have something or shouldn’t eat something I want it.”
STORY of my life. Dangerous for my wallet 😉 and my wallet almost always loses the battle. Oopsie poopsie!
That smoothie looks amazing and so worth it, enjoy another later – it’s hot enough out!
That workout you linked to is one of my favorites you’ve ever posted – today’s sounds challenging too! Have a great day!
oh that makes me happy! so glad you like it!
Yea, I can’t wait to try it!
I’m jealous about your new coffee maker! I want one of those soo bad. Most of the time I can tell myself not to do something and I won’t, but if its something I really want it won’t matter what I tell myself.
I love Queen! I have their Greatest Hits cd and it is has so many good songs to work out too. When I ran track in high school, I used to listen to “Don’t Stop Me Now” before every single track meet! 🙂
Haha total reverse psycology, I agree!! The second I tell myself NOT to have/do something, I usually have to have/do it. Exactly why food rules never work!!
Enjoy your new coffee machine! I have a Keurig and love it!!
Yeah! I can’t stop thinking about it. Usually the case with chocolate..!
Oh yea, I definitely crave something more when I tell myself not to eat it. But that’s only if I already wanted it in the first place!
Smoothies and frapps are totally different, anyway. Plus, I think it’s reached that point where you NEED to drink something cold all the time!
I love your incline/running workout!
Whenever I tell myself not to eat something.. it always happens anyway. Like last night.. I told myself not to have (another) piece of chocolate. Clearly I did.
chocolate is a whole ‘nother story. i put mine in the freezer thinking that would help me stop wanting it. nope. i just ate frozen chocolate. 🙂
I am WAY more likely to eat something once I tell myself I can’t. It’s a little rebel that I think we all have in our human nature ; )
I definitely want something more if I say I shouldn’t have it. It’s the whole forbidden fruit theory
It is absolute human nature to want something you “shouldn’t” or “can’t” have! I do it alll the time!
Your smoothies always look so good! 🙂
It makes me want it more than humanly possible and nothing stands in my way until I get it times a thousand.
Yes! If I tell myself to not have something i only want it all the more. That explains why my past dieting attempts were always so horrible — I’d cut out starchy carbs or sweets and then that is all I wanted. Once I took a more moderate approach I was able to take the weight off and keep it off.
That song is perfect for running! By the way, Ryan’s workout would be too intense for me too. My shins hurt if I walk too fast at too steep an incline for too long. 10 is my max for 4 mph, but I usually don’t even push that tooo long.
Great workout! I always mean to incoporate incline walking but seldom do it – you make it seem so easy and doable although I don’t see going up to 11 in my future just yet!!
Hey Julie,
Your workout sounds killer, good job! One thought/question from my own personal experience: how are you able to maintain a 4.0 pace at an incline of 11? Do you use your hands to hold on, or do you swing them? I wouldn’t be able to walk at that speed at such an incline (unless our treadmills are totally diff?!) I am not criticizing, but rather curious 🙂 The way I look at it, the higher the incline, the slower the pace. I think about hiking outdoors; the higher the climb, the more the glutes and hams are activated and one’s pace comes down so one can really focus on movement, instead of speed. What’s your secret?!
i definitely don’t hold on. if i need to hold on, i lower the incline. i pump my arms though and look like a fool, but it gets me through it! i only maintained that incline for a short amount of time, so it wasn’t too awful, though still pretty intense!
Hmmm, good question!! I don’t really find that telling myself I can’t have something makes me crave it more – I don’t tend to restrict myself from any foods, but instead I just think of the after-effects they’re going to have on me. That’s usually enough motivation to avoid them. As for smoothies… any time of day is fine for me! 🙂
haha yes if I know I am trying to not to eat a certain food it definitely makes me want it more! 😛
Looks like a great workout! 🙂
Love Queen. 🙂
I have a problem with my shins hurting if I do inclines on the treadmill–even 1.0 can leave my shins sore afterwards. I think it may be my running form on the t-mill more than anything because I do most of my running outside and I live in a very hilly area and I never experience any problems…just on the treadmill!
And yes…unfortunately telling myself that I can’t have something makes me want it more. Diet soda is my vice–every time I try to cut it out I end up drinking even more than before! I’m not sure how the best way to deal with this problem is…heh.
Just falling in love with smoothies all over again (it’s still quite cold here in Britain). Sooooo delicious I have them for pudding as well!
Something is definetly harder to resist after I tell my self I shouldn’t have it!
I had a smoothie this morning too, and trust me…I also licked the bowl clean!
I love that song by Queen! I like the Ten Tenors version too. 🙂
Sometimes I try and psych myself out about something and if I tell myself I can’t have it, I won’t after a while.
is that an acapella group? i love acapella! off to google it…
They do some a capella, some with music. They are so good!
I love my Keurig! I got a “my K cup” filter and buy my own grounds… it saves a lot of $ (K cups are pricey!) and lets me decide how strong I want my cup to be. It was a great purchase!
i saw that at bed bath & beyond. it seems really neat! i’m glad you like it! i’m definitely looking into it – especially since you can control the strength and i like weak coffee.
I am such an impulse shopper, eater, everything-er that I tend to just do whatever, whenever. So denying myself anything never works.
Hope you like your coffee!!!! That workout sounds really intense!!!!
I love my run/walk treadmill workouts. It makes the time go by a lot quicker.
Love this treadmill workout. With my foot being messed up right now, I feel like this might be something I can still do!
When I tell myself that I shouldn’t do something, I almost always do it twice as bad. For example, whenever I go to Cheesecake, I try to abstain from that delicious brown bread because I like it too much. In the end, I usually eat the entire loaf 🙂
YES! This is why diets will never work for me!
Yep, the second I tell myself I can’t have something that thing is all I can think about! I recently tried South Beach where I had to basically eliminate all bread, rice, pasta, etc. OMG…never wanted it so badly in my LIFE! I agree with Lindsey, I don’t think those kind of diets are for me, either. It always results in a binge!
How was your coffee?! I just got a similar coffeemaker a couple of weeks ago and am IN LOVE! So, so easy and I’m excited to try all the different flavors of k cups. I wonder which ones are the best??
Whenever I give myself permission to eat as much pizza or cake or ice cream as I want, I never seem to want as much, so I’m sure it works in reverse, too! I try not to tell myself there’s anything off limits. Well, except for a second mug of coffee. I have enough trouble sleeping as it is!
I want me some forbidden fruit!
Probably not. I always take advice with a grain of salt. At the end of the day, I know what I like and I’ll eat what I like… but I still love having the knowledge and advice though!
since im standing around in a freezing cold gym all morning i always say “self, dont make a smoothie you will get even colder” but i always do and end up huddled at the front desk in a hoodie lol
Kerigs are great if you only want one cup of coffee but im not a big fan since i drink copious amounts of coffee, and i like really really strong coffee (i buy spanish espresso coffee and then double brew it!)
any time i am having a scheduled splurge (i.e birthday cake, fancy dinner out) i tell myself to avoid sweets and indulgences that day in preparation for the treat to come – yet i usually fail…yesterday for instance, i made my roommate and ice cream pie for her birthday. knowing that i was going to get a huge chunk of that pie did not stop me from eating cookies or chocolate chips or scoops of ice cream before we actually dug in.
it’s funny, i can be really disciplined on any other day and give myself treats when i actually crave them and yet when i know i shouldnt indulge i cant resist. go figure
Starbucks now has protein powder you can add to your drinks! Have not tried it yet, but a good friend of mine said it was good! 🙂
Yep, I’m totally that little kid who HAS to do whatever I’m told not to…maybe I should tell myself NOT to eat more veggies and NOT to put down the chocolate bar!
haha hilarious and i totally agree!
when you are at a pace of 4.0 on the treadmill, are you still walking or are you doing a light jog?
4.0 is fast walking for me.
thanks!
Telling myself I can’t have something NEVER works for me. What does work is telling myself I can have it later. If I’m still thinking about it later, I know I definitely wanted it.
That goes with buying stuff too. I know I don’t need another purse. But I see one I like and want to buy. I leave the store and if I’m still thinking about the purse 2 days later, I go buy it. About 7 times out of 10, I don’t want whatever that thing was again – be it a purse or a DQ blizzard.
I try not to laugh when I see these big buff guys walking at a super high incline willing themselves not to fall off! Is this Ryan? Hee. It definitely looks like a tough workout!
Once I get something in my head I HAVE to have it. Not necessarily right now, but it’s not going to be replaced with anything else. By the time I do get it – a little goes a long way. It’s definitely worthwhile to “treat” myself than to obsess and then later binge.
This pretty much goes for anything – not just food!
Last summer I put myself on a no-fro-yo diet. That lasted….all of 3 days. Whoops 😉
So funny that you’re discussing this today because I had the exact same conversation with my mom last night at dinner. I definitely am much happier (and healthier!) when my only rule is that *nothing* is off limits. Somehow it always leads to the balance of moderation.
It definitely makes me crave it even more…better to give in sometimes than be thinking about it all day!
I am a major fan of walking on a steep incline. I was chatting with a fitness model one time and she said it was her key to getting a nice bum! I have been incorporating it ever since!
And I don’t rule out any food because it will be ALL I think about until I have it again! Oh the wonders of the human brain!
hey Julie!! I’m just catching up on yesterdays posts….two things I must share: 1- Maria’s comment was out of complete jealously!! You are working hard and not boring at all…what are you supposed to do? Go out everynight on the town, etc just to have interesting stuff to blog about. 2- Get another dog!!!! Seriously! two is way better than one. They play with each other, Sadie won’t be lonely at all anymore when you are busy, and there are tons of dogs who need love in shelters! DO IT! We got another dog this year and it’s been the best!! have a good day
I think I may love you. 🙂
haha You and Ryan remind me of my hubby and I! I wish we lived in the same state b/c we would be bff’s!
I love the look of your smoothie bowls!!! They make me full just by looking at their creamy, chocolaty goodness:)
oo i love that workout!! even on 4 its either fast walk or slow jog so thats a good one!!.. if I tell myself not to do/eat somehting.. then I dont but if someone else tells me not to and I wnt to.. i totally still do what i want :P… i run into a lot of problems there when it comes to my parents and parties… like i said.. i will do what i want ! hehe!