Thousands of people buy treadmills every year (and maybe every month) but most people don’t know the correct way to structure a healthy workout on them. I’ve documented a few routines that will maximize your workout, minimize your time spent on the treadmill, and increase the likelihood that you’ll keep using it instead of letting it collect dust in your garage.
Most people are under the impression that working out on a treadmill is the perfect, easy way to get in shape while you walk your way to weight loss and overall health. While this is partially true, there are certain things you must remember and do while you are working out on a treadmill. You simply cannot just get on a treadmill for a half hour and just walk at the same speed while you’re watching television or reading a book if you want to achieve the results that you’re looking for. While this still may be a healthy way to spend a half hour (I certainly cannot see anything UN-healthy about walking for a half hour), it most certainly will not shed the pounds like you are trying to do. The real secret to an effective treadmill workout is to vary the speed and incline of the treadmill during the workout. Start off slower, then gradually increase throughout your allotted time period, always allowing for a slowing down period near the end. Also, keep a similar routine for a few weeks, then once your body starts to feel like you aren’t getting as good of a workout, start off faster and increase from that speed. Or, start out at a slight incline instead of flat and end up with a higher incline. After time, your muscles get “memory” and you won’t be working them out as well unless you keep pushing your body’s envelope. After all, that’s what you’re trying to do. Once your muscles don’t feel tired any longer from a certain exercise, that means that they’ve been trained for that exercise and it is time to move on to the next, more difficult exercise.
Many people also neglect to realize that you also need to warm up and cool down during an effective treadmill workout. Your body needs these two periods and they are absolutely crucial to your workout. Set aside 5% of your workout time for a warm up period and 5% for a cool down period. Some critics say that 5% is a high number, but from my personal experience as a trainer I’ve seen far fewer injuries when people warm up and cool down for longer periods of time. Don’t risk an injury by rushing into a very stressful workout on your body! That would be counter-productive to the goals you are trying to reach by stepping on that treadmill to begin with!
