-- By Holly Little, Certified Personal Trainer

Is there anything more boring than the treadmill? After endless hours staring at the same wall, anyone would start to wonder if that’s all there is to exercise. But it doesn’t have to be that way. By shaking it up and loading your workout with variety, you can rediscover the fun of a good treadmill workout.

The first thing to remember is that any workout is and can be what you make it. The opportunity to go all out or to barely break a sweat is completely up to you. With that being said, even though the treadmill might be an uneventful and boring thought to most, you have the ability to make it fun and challenging. The following are several tips on how to create your own workout.

1) Change up the pace
If you always walk at the same speed for the same amount of time, your body will get used to the routine and you might not see the long-term affects that you desire. Keep in mind that the body responds to changes in pace and sparks your metabolism accordingly. You can begin by trying a pyramid scheme. For example: walk at 3.2 mph for 1 minute then pick it up to 3.5 mph for 1 minute, then go to 3.3 mph for 2 minutes and then 3.6 mph for 2 minutes, etc. You can continue up the pyramid until you reach a point where the speed is at a level where you cannot hold it for the time period and then go back down. Before you know it, you will be walking faster and the time will have flown by.

2) Change the incline
With the same thinking that was behind the change in pace, you can do the same with the incline. Shock the body a little bit and do some hill repeats. Your body will respond positively and you will gain some cardiovascular strength in the meantime.

3) Engage in another activity while on the treadmill
If you see an opportunity to spark a conversation with the person next to you, go ahead – talk your time away. There have been many studies that show the positive effects of having a training partner. You might also find some benefits to reading or watching television. Just be sure that you are safe and don’t lose too much focus on the task at hand.

These are just a few tips that can help transform the monotony of working out on a treadmill into a very rewarding experience all around. Now get out there and keep on walking!

SparkPeople.com is a leading weight loss web site that helps people transition from dieting to living a healthy lifestyle. This article is reprinted with permission of SparkPeople, Inc.