subject: Getting The Best Results From Treadmill Workouts [print this page] Treadmills are growing in popularity because of their convenience in the home, but they are also very effective exercise machines for a cardiovascular workout. Here are a few basic to getting the best workout results from your treadmill.
Inclines are a great way to get a good, solid cardio routine on a treadmill. Don't just jump right into the steepest incline available and run as fast as you can; there is a right way and a wrong way to do things.
The first thing to keep in mind is that it is okay to go slow. Some people believe slow incline walks aren't effective, but the truth is they are way more effective than fast no-incline routines.
Hills are hard, and they make your heart and other muscles work extremely hard. Because of this fact, you can go at a slower pace and still put forth a lot of effort and get results.
You need to start slow and build up you speed to a steady pace that you can maintain for the duration of your workout. You don't want to burst fast right out of the gate, lose a lot of steam, and exhaust yourself after three minutes.
Besides, running fast on hills has a negative impact on your knee and hip joints because of the stress they endure. Maintain a brisk pace on the treadmill and you will burn more calories and get way better results.
Tip number two is to let go of the hard rails. In fact, don't even touch them to begin with.
Most people think they can do way more than they are capable of, and when they realize this, they cling to the rails for support. This method will cheat you out of the results that you actually want to achieve.
If you are holding onto the machine then you are doing more than you can handle. You would never run faster than you were able on the street and then try to cling to the surrounding buildings to hold you up as you attempt to go on.
This is essentially what holding onto the rails is doing. Slow down and go at a pace that you can sustain yourself at.
Also, don't try to start at the steepest incline available on your machine. Start low and then build yourself up to the steeper incline levels later when you are ready.
Many people go way to steep at first and then hold onto those rails for dear life in order to hold up their body weight. This will only make your upper body do the work, not your legs and glutes.
A common mistake is to judge your progress by the numbers on the monitor of your treadmill. Instead gauge your success on how your body feels, and increase the intensity based on how your body feels, not what the machine says.
To get the best results on your cardio exercises, warm up. Walk at a flat, level state for a few minutes. After preparing your muscles, then start trying out different speeds and inclines; but keep in mind that you need to start small in order to grow big.
Find a level of speed and incline that challenges you but is still at a level that you can maintain for a 30 minute routine. And remember to go at a pace that allows you to be free of the hand rails.
Try doing intervals to get the best cardio exercise. Walk fast for a few minutes at no incline, and then go slow at steep inclines for a few minutes.
Repeat these intervals 5 - 10 times for each workout, depending on the length of your routine. As you build endurance, you intervals can get longer and your workout more intense.
Remember that the shorter your interval, the tougher it should be. One minute intervals should exhaust you every time because they should be really intense.
Recovery intervals should last longer than work ones because they allow you to prepare yourself for a short but tough interval that should leave you gasping for air. Some treadmills have programmable interval programs that allow you to manually specify their length, speed, and incline for the duration of your cardio exercise.
