Cardiovascular exercise is performed in a repetitive fashion, and involves the large muscles in your body. This type of exercise raises your heart rate and causes you to break a sweat. Treadmills are popular cardiovascular exercise machines that can be found in most gyms. The best routine for losing weight on this machine depends on your personal preference and current fitness level.
Warm-up
Before you start any routine, it is a good idea to loosen up your body. Spend five minutes doing dynamic stretches and a light warm-up on the treadmill. Dynamic stretches are performed in motion, and get your body ready for exercising movements. Perform stretches like alternating toe touches, leg swings, side lunges, arm crisscrosses, side bends, forward bends and high knees.
Types
There are various approaches to workout routines on treadmills. A steady state workout is best if you are just starting out. Interval training, sprint training and Tabata training are high-intensity workouts that you can do once you improve your aerobic capacity and start to get into better shape.
Features
As the name implies, a steady state routine is performed at a steady pace for the duration of your workout. Start with a warm-up, increase your intensity to a moderate pace and stay there for the rest of your workout.
Interval training is performed by alternating your speed back and forth from high to low. Start with a warm-up, then run for 20 seconds at a pace that is 70 to 80 percent of your maximum effort. Reduce your effort to about 50 percent for 40 seconds, then increase it again. Alternate back and forth for the duration of your workout.
Sprint training is more intense than interval training. After doing your warm-up, run as fast as you can for 15 seconds, then place your hands on the handrails, lift yourself up and place your feet on the sides of the belt. Rest completely for 30 seconds, lift yourself up and sprint again. Alternate back and forth for the duration of your workout.
Tabata training is the same as sprint training, except you reverse your time frame. For example, sprint for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. This type of training is commonly done with weightlifting.
Time Frame
To lose weight, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity performed five days a week. Follow this guideline for the steady state routine. Being that interval training, sprint training and Tabata training are more intense, they should be done for no more than 30 minutes. With Tabata training, aim for eight sprints when you first start out and increase them as you get into better shape.
Effects
Interval training, sprint training and Tabata training increase your metabolism after you are done working out. This, in turn, causes you to burn a high amount of calories while you exercise and afterward. This is called the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC for short.
Considerations
When you exercise, make sure to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Also pay attention to your diet -- you can lose an additional pound a week by reducing your daily intake by 500 calories. Make sure to choose nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, whole grains, beans and low-fat dairy products.
warning
Before you start any new workout routines, especially ones that are intense, make sure to get approval from your doctor.
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