The treadmill is one of the most effective fitness tools available for weight loss purposes. They come in a wide range of prices, from just over $100 up to several thousand dollars as of June 2010, so it's a piece of gym equipment that can be afforded by most. There are a variety of different treadmill workouts, for people of all fitness levels, which can help you lose weight.
Incline Walking
Following the CDC's recommended weekly exercise regimen for adults of a minimum of 2 1/2 hours of moderately intense exercise, walking briskly---three to four mph--on a treadmill is the perfect workout. To ramp up the weight loss benefits of walking, you can increase the incline of the treadmill for a more intense workout. Increasing the incline can help you burn significantly more calories in the same amount of time. Some treadmills offer a "weight loss program" or something similar, which utilizes both a flat walking movement and an incline movement in equal intervals. This type of training can help you lose weight fast, and it doesn't require increasing the amount of time spent exercising beyond the 30 to 60 minutes per day, five days per week, recommended by the CDC.
Increase Time, Not Speed
In order to get the greatest weight loss benefit from a low-impact, moderately-intense workout on the treadmill, you must increase the amount of time spent exercising week after week rather than increasing the speed of the treadmill. According to the American Heart Association, people looking to lose weight should try to exercise within their target heart rate. To determine your target heart rate, subtract your age from 220. Then take this number and multiply it by 0.5 and by 0.85 to find your target heart rate range. Stay within this range for optimal weight loss results; a heart rate monitor makes it easier to track your heart rate. As you become more physically fit over a period of weeks, you can increase the amount of time spent exercising by a few minutes per week. Start at 30 minutes per session and go up from there. Do not increase the speed---stay at a brisk walk---or else it could put you over your target heart rate range, which can lead to health issues and even be counterproductive to your weight loss goals.
Interval Training
Most treadmills offer some sort of interval training program. This usually consists of 30 or 60 second "rest-and-work" intervals where you will walk/jog for the first 30 to 60 seconds and run/sprint for the next 30 to 60 seconds. This type of training is very high intensity, so it should only be done by those who are physically fit enough---healthy heart and joints--to handle a high-impact workout. This type of interval training is also known as high intensity interval training, or HIIT, and it is used quite frequently by college and professional athletes. HIIT burns fat by not only burning calories during each workout, but also from significantly boosting your metabolism. You will feel more energized, stronger, have more endurance and will lose weight with interval training. Start out by doing four or five interval cycles with no rest in between, and as you become more physically fit, increase the amount of "rest-and-work" cycles up to 10. This exercise should be done at the highest intensity level that you can handle.
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