Treadmills are a convenient, low-impact and easy-to-use workout option, suitable for both beginners and those with a more intense fitness routine. While walking routines on a treadmill are suitable for all fitness levels, faster walking can produce a more strenuous cardiovascular workout. Try slow and gentle walks, brisk power walking or interval training on the treadmill.
Function
Treadmills allow you to walk, jog or run indoors, regardless of the weather. You can intensify your workout by adjusting the elevation or increasing your pace on the treadmill. A faster pace will provide you with a more challenging workout, both to increase your endurance and improve your cardiovascular health. Faster and more intense workouts are an option whether you walk, jog or run on the treadmill.
Types
You can use your treadmill for different types of workouts, whether you’re ready for quick power walking or still strolling along as a beginner. On a low-intensity day, simply walk. For a more intense workout, try interval or circuit training using your treadmill, according to Runners’ World. Integrate elevation into your workout plan to increase the calorie burn and effectiveness of your time on the treadmill. When designing your treadmill workout, consider your exercise goals and general fitness.
Speeds
Start your treadmill workout with a slower walk, increasing your pace as your body warms up, beginning at 1.5 miles to 2 miles per hour, especially if you are new to a fitness routine, according to TreadmillTalk.com. Speeds from 3 to 4 miles per hour are a fairly gentle walking pace. Increase your pace to a faster walk, maintaining a speed of 4 miles to 5 miles per hour. Power walking or speed walking requires speeds of 5 to 5.5 miles per hour, according to WebMD.com.
Significance
Balancing your walking speed, incline and overall fitness can provide you with a thorough and challenging workout. Look to your body for clues about the appropriate workout intensity. You should spend most of your time on the treadmill breathing hard but still able to talk, according to TreadmillTalk.com. Your speed will depend upon your fitness level. Increase the duration of your workout, your speed or the incline on the treadmill as you become more fit.
Considerations
You can use a treadmill for more intense physical training, whether you’re simply hoping to burn more calories or training for an event like a 5K or 10K walk/run. If you know your top speed for a 5K or 10K event, push that speed in short intervals by cutting 15 to 20 seconds off of your usual time. According to Fitness Magazine, you may also want to integrate short bursts of running, but not sprinting, into your walking workout to improve calorie burn.
Photo Credit
- man exercising on treadmill 6 image by Ken Hurst from Fotolia.com
