Hands up - who else finds treadmill workouts dull? If I can help it, I avoid them with a ten-foot barge pole. I’ll always choose a real pavement over a moving belt; running in crisp air, walking with a podcast, feeling the weather on my face. But as winter sets in and the afternoon light disappears before most of us have shut our laptops, the lure of a warm, well-lit gym becomes harder to ignore.
Still, even with the best intentions, I’ve often struggled to make treadmill sessions feel genuinely enjoyable. So when I first came across the idea of “treadmill reading” on TikTok - courtesy of running creator @hannahtrenches, who strolls at a gentle pace while reading - I felt unexpectedly intrigued. It looked calm, productive, and notably low-pressure. A way of making time for movement and reading without treating either as a chore.
