Treadmill Tips

Treadmill Tips

According to my trainer if you want to add muscle or tone-up first you have to lose the fat and the best way to lose fat is cardio. He loved the treadmill. Every time I went to work out he had me start a 20 minute warm up at a 3.0-3.5 pace. After my weight workout, I had to finish with a 45 minute walk at a slightly higher pace. He was a stinker about this and would sometimes increase my pace to 3.8 to 4.0  Even though it was tough at times...it worked.

Another thing about a treadmill or any other cardio exercise. Your body gets used to the routine...so mix it up. Change your pace or incline. Many machines offer different work out programs. So if you feel that you are not losing any weight try this, also it keeps you from getting bored (makes the time go faster).

Remember to always start out slow then do your program and follow-up with a cool down period for about 5 minutes so your heart rate and muscles can return to normal.

As I stated in my heart rate/heart zone post you must know your target heart rate to get results. Check out your target heart rate on that post.

Here is an example of how you can manually change (not using a programed routine on your treadmill) your cardio program using different inclines.

Burn fat and calories and build your lower body with this 300-calorie-burning treadmill routine from a fitness pro.

Minutes                            MPH                                               Incline

0:00-3:00                           3.0                                                   1 warm-up
3:00-3:30                           3.5                                                   2
3:30-4:00                           3.5                                                   4
4:00-4:30                           3.5                                                   6
4:30-5:00                           3.5                                                   7
5:00-6:00                           5.0                                                   1
6:00-7:00                           4.0                                                   1
7:00-7:30                           4.5                                                   2
7:30-8:00                           4.5                                                   4
8:00-8:30                           4.5                                                   6
8:30-9:00                           4.5                                                   7
9:00-10:00                         3.5                                                   1
10:00-11:00                       6.0                                                   1
11:00-12:00                       3.5                                                   1
12:00-12:30                       5.0                                                   2
12:30-13:00                       5.0                                                   4
13:00-13:30                       5.0                                                   6
13:30-14:00                       5.0                                                   7
14:00-16:00                       3.5                                                   1
16:00-17:00                       6.0                                                   1
17:00-20:00                       3.0                                                   1

20:00-25:00                    2.8-2.5                                                0 cool down

Remember:

1. Increase your speed during a few of your workouts, keep your body guessing and it will give you better results.  The best time to change your speed is mid-way through your workout.
2. Vary your stride during flat inclines to stretch out your legs and use different muscle groups
3. Combine a higher pace with various inclines.

The most important Treadmill Tip is give it a few months and before you know it you'll look at yourself and find out it was worth every minute. As with any exercise, please consult your physician especially if you have any medical issues.

Here is Model Kim Strother's workout.  She has changed her routine.