Beginning your quest for fitness on a treadmill will help you burn calories and improve blood circulation through the body and improve your heart health, says treadmill-online.com.
Speed
The speed setting is the most important aspect on the treadmill because it will dictate your walking pace and your calorie burn. When you first start, find a speed that you can maintain for a prolonged period of time. Obviously, the faster the pace the more calories burned, but don't attempt to push too hard in the beginning. It's best to start with a fast paced walk or light jog so you can concentrate on your form and how you feel.
Incline
Increasing the incline will help you elevate your heart rate without having to speed up to a jog or run. This is helpful for people with bad knees, lower back or hips and who want to get their heart rate into their fat burning zone. For example, someone walking at 3.5 and zero incline has a heart rate of 130 BPM, but if he bumps up the incline to a 7.0 then they have a heart rate of 150 BPM. According to losethebellyfatnow.com, the more the incline on the treadmill, the greater the calories will be burned on the treadmill simply because walking at an incline on the treadmill causes more muscle activity and greater range of motion.
Duration
It's best for beginners to start a treadmill workout for 20 minutes, three times per week. Have a rest day between days of exercise. This will ease the muscles into exercise and not overload them.
Intervals
Interval training is when you alternate between high-intensity exercise and one moderate-intensity exercise. For example, jog at 5 mph for 1 minute then walk at 3.5 mph for 1 minute. Repeat this process for 20 to 30 minutes. The reason this training system is so effective is because your heart rate up and then back down for a quick rest. This will burn more calories then simply staying at the same pace for 20 minutes.
Equip yourself
Fitness gadgets such as heart rate monitors and pedometers can help motivate you and track your progress. A heart rate monitor can tell if you are in your fat burning zone and push you to stay in that range. Some monitors include a calorie counter, which will give you an estimated amount of calories burned based on basic information such as age, height and weight. A pedometer counts the total steps you have taken throughout your day. This can be motivating because you can aim for 10,000 steps to maintain your weight or go above that number to lose weight.
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