This high incline treadmill is a treadmill DIY you can make in a couple of minutes but permanently impact your workout in an awesome way!
Thousands of people have now used this tutorial to make their less expensive treadmill inclined. I’ve got video instructions as well as step-by-step instructions just for you!
Table of contents
After you walk on your high incline for 45 minutes, maybe you want to stretch with your DIY yoga bolster! I hope you’ll peruse even more DIYs over here too!
We have an inexpensive treadmill that has a very small incline. I prefer walking because I can get things done easier than when I’m trying to run. Walking on an incline is the best workout but I didn’t have money to buy a high incline treadmill. I decided to make my inexpensive treadmill a high-incline treadmill myself!
This turned out really well and was quite simple. If you are curious, I have the Sunny Health & Fitness Treadmill. It has every feature I really wanted except for an automatic incline. The treadmills with high inclines were over double the price!
What you need for your DIY High Incline Treadmill
- Treadmill
- Nails
- 2x4s
- Wood stain**
- Exercise Equipment Mat**
**Optional
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Instructional Video
Step by Step Instructions
You will start by cutting your 2×4 into 12″ pieces. If you got your 2x4s from Lowes or Home Depot, they can do it for you there!
We decided to incline our treadmill using 3 2x4s stacked on top of each other. If you’d like yours higher, you could probably do more, but you still want the back of your treadmill to touch the ground for stability, so I wouldn’t push it!
Next, we screwed them together using 2.5″ screws. Here you will see I did three at the bottom and three at the top.
I love staining wood, so this next step was mostly just for fun! I also like that it blended in with my treadmill mat so it doesn’t look like I jerry-rigged my treadmill together! Verathane is hands down the best stain. I used Verathane in Ebony.
Now you’re ready to get walking. Prepare to sweat!
Treadmill Incline FAQs
YES! Walking on an incline is a wonderful way to be in a fat-burning zone at a low-intensity steady state (LISS). If you are looking for fat loss, my personal trainer has me do 3 LISS exercises per week and then 3 days of muscle building.
The ideal incline for a treadmill will depend on each person’s abilities but personal trainers suggest you should be able to keep up the incline for the full extent of your LISS. For me, that is 45 minutes. Three 2x4s stacked was perfect for my body and abilities!
For LISS or fat burning, walking on an incline will keep your heart rate in the correct fat-burning zone. If you’re looking for more cardio-centered exercise, running may be a better option. I don’t run often on my treadmill but when I do it’s for sprints when I do HIIT.
You do not want to miss out on all of these other incredible 2×4 projects!
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DIY High Incline Treadmill
This high incline treadmill is a treadmill DIY you can make in a couple of minutes but permanently impact your workout in an awesome way!
Materials
- 6 - 12" 2x4
- 12 - 2.5" screws
- Stain (optional)
Tools
- Screws
- Drill
- Saw
Instructions
- Cut your wood down to size
- Screw the pieces together depending on how much of an incline you'd like
- Stain your wood
- Prop up treadmill on the blocks
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This is such a great idea Anna! Those high incline treadmills can get so pricey, brilliant solution.
Thanks Amy! They really can. Plus I have no way to get lazy and make the treadmill decline when I get tired!! Lol
Such a clever idea! I love it. 🙂
What a great way to keep what you have but improve on it. You saved yourself a bundle with this easy and brilliant solution to get the workout you want. Love it!
Such a practical solution and a great way to make what you have work the way you want it to!! Great job 🙂
Such a great idea! Our treadmill was really cheap so it doesn’t incline at all – you would definitely feel the burn with this under it!
My concern is that doing this will put extra stress on the components that were not engineered to be used on an incline. Have you had any issues with the motor or other parts? Would love an update. Thank you!
Valid concern and I get that question all the time! It has lasted 3 years and is still goin! I suspect it may shorten its life a bit. The model in this post isn’t top tier and I’m not sure how long it would last in the first place.
How high was the incline once adding the 3 – 2×4 under the treadmill?
The 2″ boards will make it 6″ taller giving it approximately 15cm incline. That means it’s like setting it to a “15” or a 15% incline.
Thank You Anna. I was wondering that samething.
Hi, I have a foldable treadmill that folds halfway down the ramp.
Is this still possible if I add more wood under those parts or too risky?
Thanks!
Mine is also a folding treadmill and it worked great for me!
Using wood stain to blend the 2x4s with the treadmill mat is a clever touch. Do you have any additional tips for ensuring the aesthetic appeal of a DIY treadmill while maintaining its functionality?
Another thing you could do aside from stain is to use some paint. You could also do some vinyl covering if you wanted it to look patterned in some sort of way like marble contact paper.
I just took cement blocks and put them under.
Smart!