Treadmills range from very basic with no frills to very fancy with digital screens, heart rate monitors and iPod inputs. There is even a treadmill desk that is used while you are working at the office. Regardless of the make or model, all treadmills do the same basic thing--they burn calories while toning muscles.
Thighs
The quadriceps are the major muscles on the front of the thighs. All four parts get worked when you flex your hip and extend your knee. Hip flexion takes place when the thigh moves toward the stomach and knee extension takes place when the lower leg moves forward after being bent. The muscles of the quadriceps are the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius. The sartorius is an inner thigh muscle that gets worked and the gracilis is a muscle that runs over top of the quads and gets worked as well.
The three-part hamstring muscles have the complete opposite job of the quads. The biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus flex the knee, causing the lower leg to move backward.
Buttocks
The buttocks contain three muscles called the gluteus maximus, medius and minimus. All of these muscles are responsible for hip extension. When walking or running on the treadmill, you will feel this when your upper thigh moves backward. If you were to increase the incline, these muscles would get targeted with more intensity.
Gastrocnemius
The calf muscles are found behind the knees and they run down to the ankles. The top part of this muscle group has a medial and lateral head and it is called the gastrocnemius. Whenever your feet point down during running or walking, your gastroc is being worked. This is known as plantar flexion.
Soleus
The soleus is the lower portion of the calves. This muscle primarily gets worked when your foot is in plantar flexion and your knee is in a bent position. You would experience this when your leg kicks back and your toes point behind you during sprinting on the treadmill.
Peroneals
The peroneal longus and brevis run down the lateral side of the shins and they get worked when your feet go into plantar flexion and when your toes move inward. This is called eversion and you might see this when your foot leaves the treadmill and moves forward before the next foot strike.
Tibialis Anterior
The tibialis anterior muscles are found on the front of the shin bone. When your heels point down and toes point up, these muscles get worked. If you were to run at an incline the contraction of these muscles would be greater.
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