Jogging & Walking Treadmill Workout

Aerobic exercises such as jogging and walking on a treadmill are essential in preventing chronic ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and osteoporosis. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends you perform 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise five days a week to maintain your health. Using a treadmill enables you to better monitor your duration, speed, distance, heart rate, and calorie burn. Compared to jogging or walking outside, treadmills are easier on your joints due to their shock-absorption systems.

Step 1

Walk first, to ease into your workout. Always use a 1-percent incline on the treadmill. If you are currently sedentary, start with five to 10 minutes of an easy walk at 2 miles per hour on Monday. Increase or decrease the speed if necessary. Do a few easy stretches after your walk. Take Tuesday off. On Wednesday, use the same speed, but increase your duration by 2 to 5 minutes. Take Thursday off. On Friday, increase your duration by another 2 to 5 minutes. Take the weekend off. By the end of the first week, you should be walking 10 to 15 minutes. Over the next three weeks, increase the duration of your walk to 30 minutes. Increase your speed by .1 mph increments as long as you are able to talk but not sing.

Step 2

Increase the incline. Exercise using five-minute intervals. Walk for your first four minutes, then increase the incline of your treadmill to 2 or 3 percent for one minute; decrease your speed if necessary in order to maintain at least a 2-percent incline. Walking on an incline increases the aerobic intensity, without increasing the impact on your joints. Do this incline workout on Wednesdays. On Mondays and Fridays, continue to walk on a 1-percent incline, incrementally extending your session to 45 minutes. Perform this routine over the next two weeks.

Step 3

Increase your speed. Walk for only 20 minutes on Fridays. Start at your slowest speed, then increase your speed by .1 mph every one to two minutes. When you increase your intensity, you must decrease your duration. Continue with your Monday and Wednesday workouts, and do this program two weeks.

Step 4

Add some jogging. Replace your fast Friday walk with a walk-and-jog interval session. Jog for 20 seconds, then walk for four minutes and 40 seconds. Progressively increase the length of each jog, building up to one minute. Use 3:1 walking-to-jogging ratio for the next two weeks. Your total jog and walk session should not exceed 20 minutes. After two weeks, focus on jogging faster during your one-minute interval. The American College of Sports Medicine encourages you to incorporate jogging intervals into your walking program as a method of improving your bone health.

Step 5

Record all your treadmill sessions. Keep track of the length, distance, speed, incline, and calories burned during your workouts. Also note the length of your intervals. These data will help you in making small changes to your workout so you continue to improve your fitness. During the week, ensure you do one, easy 60-minute session, one moderately hard 45-minute session, and one very hard interval for 20 minutes.

Tips and Warnings

If you will be participating in an outdoor walk/run event, be sure to do some outdoor training. Run on asphalt whenever possible instead of concrete. Consider replacing your running shoes every four months if you run/walk three times per week.
Check with your doctor before starting any exercise program. While exercise is safe for most individuals, it may worsen your condition if you are unsupervised.