If you are new to exercising, you may not have the cardiovascular strength and stamina for the more intense aerobic exercises or sprints. Depending on your muscular strength, you may need to build muscle and muscular endurance. You can ease into exercising by using a treadmill to improve the fitness of your heart, lungs and muscles.
Power Walking
The simplest way to get started on a treadmill is to begin walking at a pace that will let you continue for 30 minutes or longer. This intensity and duration, five times a week, is the American Heart Association's recommended program for beginners to improve heart health. Working at this pace will allow you to learn the features of the machine, including how to change the incline and speed to create different types of exercises later, after your fitness has improved.
You can experiment with using hand weights at this slow speed to add an upper-body component to your workout. If you wait until you are exercising at a jogging pace to see whether you can coordinate using dumbbells on the treadmill, you might end up slipping or falling off the treadmill.
If you feel that you are working at a slow pace but that you tire within several minutes, lower the speed of the treadmill. In the beginning, your goal is to increase cardiovascular and muscular stamina, or you ability to work over a period of time. You can increase speed and intensity later.
Sprints
After you have used the treadmill long enough that you are able to maintain a consistent pace without stopping, you may want to add several sprints to your 30-minute treadmill workout. These sprints will not be true maximum-effort runs, but they will be slightly more intense jogs that elevate your heart rate for 30, 60 or 90 seconds, quickly followed by a recovery period. If you are using a manual treadmill, you won't need to make any adjustments to the treadmill--you'll simply pick up your pace. If you have a programmable treadmill, you can build in several sprints to your workout by increasing the incline or speed of the treadmill, or you can use a combination of both to elevate your heart rate.
Total Body Workout
If your treadmill comes equipped with poles or other devices to work your upper body, take advantage of this opportunity to use more muscles to burn calories. Using a slow setting, experiment with coordinating leg and arm movements at the same time. As you develop more coordination, raise the speed of the treadmill. If you feel it's easier to concentrate on one area at a time, alternate how much you use your legs and arms. If you have access to dumbbells or other hand weights, including a gallon milk jug filled with water, start by using only one weight in one hand while you use the other hand to balance against the machine. Eventually, you should strive to be able to use two dumbbells while you walk or jog on the treadmill.
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