If you often use the treadmill, it is most likely because you are trying to shave off a few pounds. However, you may have recently hit a rut and you do not appear to be losing any weight. The good news is that it does not have to be like that. It can go from a tedious routine to a fat-burning workout, whether you have just a few minutes daily or a whole hour on it. The first step is to pick a top maker of treadmills such as Finether, PrestigeSports, or JLL. These makers make machines that are durable as well as have extra features to help you monitor your progress.
Mix Up Your Routine
Weight loss on a treadmill might seem easy but it is not. If you wish to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you are taking up. To do this, you should consider upping the intensity as well as the duration of each workout. However, if you consistently work too close to your limit, you will start to tire too fast. However, if you decide to run low and steady, it might take too long before you see any meaningful results. To ensure that you are making the most progress, mix things up. On some days, take your usual half-hour run but a bit fast. On some other days, take longer but go slower.
Become the Master of Your Speed
Ensure that you utilize intervals well; these are short bursts of speed that you use throughout the workout. They help you to cut time off the workout while at the same time sloughing off pounds of fat. In fact, it has been found to work especially well for women. For every two minute bursts of speed they add to their routine, it has been found that they burn more calories compared to those who use the slow and steady routine. In the coming weeks, this can lead to a drop of as much as 4% of extra weight. For those who stuck to the slow and steady routine, there was no weight loss. This can cause anyone to lose interest in a treadmill work out quite fast.
To use intervals, try the 1:2 or 1:1 ratio. This simply means that you use a burst of speed for about 60 seconds and then drop it to normal speed for about 2 minutes. Choose a speed, which you know you can hold for two or three minutes straight for the lower speed. After all, you are trying to lose weight, not to exhaust yourself. You can later build up to high intensities as you improve. However, you must first try out a few speeds until you find something that actually works out for you.
Learn How to Do Hills the right Way
Upping your incline is supposed to increase how many calories your burn. However, it rarely works like that in practice. Running up an incline can put a lot of strain on your body. Most people know this but when they get to the treadmill, they crank it up in a desperate attempt to cut as much fat as possible. Instead of setting a fixed incline, pretend that you are running outside. Learn how to go uphill using the same effort that you need to run on a flat surface. It might mean you have to drop your speed but it will help to build strength in the legs and hips by working them just a bit harder.
Besides that, try using incline intervals. Crank the incline to 4 percent for about two minutes while letting the speed drop by 0.2. Bring the incline back to zero at the same speed for about two minutes and repeat again. The shock of intervals to your system could help you burn more calories than you imagined. Once you learn how to maintain the effort on an incline, now work to maintain the speed.
On Some Days, Keep Going
On some days, doing five miles can feel like one. These are days when your body feels packed full of energy. If you are feeling like this, just keep going. If you are used to a 30-minute workout, do an hour on that day. By going longer, you could burn about 50% more calories. While this is not a good thing to do daily, some days you just feel like you can do it and you should. It will ensure that you burn more calories without feeling as if it is too much of an effort.
Mix in Other workouts
Research has shown that if you want to lose weight, you cannot rely on just one exercise routine. It is important that you mix things up. As such, it will entail some cardiac exercises, resistance training, intervals, endurance training, and much more. For instance, you should consider going for a swim often, which will help you exercise as many areas of your body as possible.
It is also worth noting that exercises alone will not help you lose weight. It needs to be done in conjunction with a good diet. By developing a good exercise routine, it can ensure that you have less idle time to turn to your comfort food.
If you are looking to lose weight, it is important to buy the right treadmill. Treadmills such as the JLL T350 Digital Folding Treadmill and PrestigeSports XM-PROII Elite Treadmill are great options from which to pick.
