Walking is a low-impact exercise that is a good way to begin an exercise program or vary an already established routine. According to the Mayo Clinic, walking is one of the most natural forms of exercise, since it's safe, easy and doesn't require practice. Walking lowers your blood pressure, helps you manage your weight and may improve your mood. Walking or running on a treadmill can give you a full cardio workout in a variety of ways.
Endurance
A good way to build endurance is to gradually build from walking to running. The benefit of building endurance on the treadmill is that it will calculate your distance for you. The Couch to 5K Program is a 20- to 30-minute workout that alternates walking and jogging intervals that enables new runners to progress to running a 5K, or 3.1 miles, in nine weeks. The workout is intended to be done three times a week, and you can run for distance, starting with 200-yard or 90-second runs, building to the full 3.1 miles, or 30-minute runs.
Speed
If you are a seasoned runner looking to build speed, running intervals at faster speeds while on the treadmill will help. Runner's World magazine offers this workout for speed training: Start with a 10-minute easy run, then set the speed about 20 seconds per mile faster than your most recent 5K race. So, if you ran a 10-minute mile recently, set the treadmill for a nine-minute, 40-second pace. Run this pace for three-minute interval, then recover with a three-minute interval of easy jogging. Repeat two more times, then run at an easy pace for five minutes before doing three more intervals. Cool down with an easy five-minute jog.
Toning
The treadmill can also be used to tone your glute muscles. At a speed of 3.5 to 4 miles per hour, warm up at an incline of three for five minutes. After five minutes, increase to an eight incline for two minutes. Take it back down to a four incline for a minute. For the next two minutes, walk at a 10 incline. At the 10-minute mark, take it back down to a five incline for a minute to recover. For the next two minutes, walk at an incline of 12, then back to 10 for another minute, then another two minutes at 12. Finally, do a five-minute cool down at an incline of two. According to Body, Mind and Spirit Fitness, this workout will burn approximately 150 calories.
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