Treadmill Training For Weight Loss

Losing a pound requires burning 3,500 calories more than you consume, over some period of time. A treadmill provides you the opportunity to burn a good number of calories in a workout to get you closer to that goal. When paired with a reduced-calorie diet and other daily physical activity, working out on a treadmill can help you lose weight.

Features

Treadmills offer you the ability to walk, jog or run indoors on varying levels of incline. Treadmills vary tremendously in quality and price---ranging from about $500 to over $4,000 for some commercial models. Lower-priced treadmills offer fewer features like preset programs and their calorie counters are usually less reliable, reports the American Council on Exercise. When looking for a treadmill for weight loss, choose a treadmill that goes up to at least a 10 percent incline and that is sturdy enough to sustain speeds over eight mph.

Potential

The amount of calories you burn on a treadmill ultimately depends on your size, gender, body composition, workout intensity and efficiency. A 150-lb. person jogging at a modest 6 mph can burn about 360 calories in a half hour, reports the website "Calories Per Hour." Raising the incline, running faster and going longer increases that calorie burn. Walkers can increase the intensity of their workout by adding inclines of five percent or higher.

Considerations

It takes a certain level of conditioning to reach a point where you can maintain a sustained run. Work up to running over time, especially if you are new to exercise. Doing too much too soon can cause injuries like shin splints and plantar fasciitis. Walking on the treadmill may burn fewer calories per hour, but if it helps you prevent injury, you can sustain your workout for the long term.

Misconceptions

To lose fat, especially insidious belly fat, aim to jog the equivalent of 20 miles per week, reports a study in a 2007 edition of the "Journal of Applied Physiology." Researchers found that while people discouraged fat gain by exercising about 30 minutes a day, five days per week, they only lost weight when they increased this minimum to about 45 minutes per day. High-intensity interval training is another strategy that may help you burn more fat during your workouts. An Australian study published in the "International Journal of Obesity in 2008 found that alternating all-out sprints with more moderate bouts of recovery resulted in accelerated fat loss after 15 weeks.

Misconceptions

Spending an hour a day on the treadmill cannot make up for poor dietary choices and an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. Strive to choose healthy foods and monitor your calorie intake to augment your treadmill training efforts. Add in other moderate physical activity during the day to burn additional calories and accelerate your weight loss efforts.