Treadmills are one of the more popular cardiovascular exercise machines that you'll find at the gym due to both their versatility and their ability to burn calories. Whether you prefer to walk or run, there are a variety of ways that you can get an effective workout on a treadmill that will strengthen your legs while also helping you to increase your metabolism and burn fat.
Step 1
Have a plan before you start your workout in order to maximize your fat burn without wasting time. Workouts can be arranged by specific amount of time spent either walking or running on the treadmill, or by a certain number of miles that you would like to hit before the end of your session.
Step 2
Wear a heart-rate monitor during your workout so that you can be assured of reaching your fitness goals. Heart rate monitors help you to determine your pace and exertion level by aiming to maintain a specific heart rate during your exercise session. Many heart-rate monitors are programmed to correspond to treadmills, which means that the treadmill monitor will display your readings.
Step 3
Change your pace throughout your workout by incorporating both running and walking segments. For example, walk for three minutes, run for two, walk for two, run for two and continue this for the duration of your workout. Along with being an effective strategy for beginners to build up their running endurance, run-and-walk intervals can help you to avoid being bored while also keeping your muscles guessing, which helps to make them stronger.
Step 4
Alter the incline during your workout or have a section of your workout focus on running or walking hills. Incline's can increase your exertion rate while also targeting and strengthening your glutes, hamstrings and calves.
Step 5
Increase your speed periodically throughout your workout. Every five minutes or so, increase the speed by 10 or 20 percent in order to strengthen your hip-flexors, which help you to run faster, and also to keep your body and muscles off guard and working harder. Do this when running or walking.
Step 6
Experiment with the different automatic controls that come pre-programmed on the treadmill. These may include mountains or hills, speed, intervals, fat-burn and heart rate. Pre-programmed routines allow you to try a variety of different workouts. The one that is best for you will depend on your personal goals; if you are trying to increase your time, then the speed setting would be ideal, or if you want to strengthen your glutes and hamstrings, choose the mountain setting.
Step 7
Walk backward for several minutes at a time in order to change your routine. Moving backward on a treadmill will also help to strengthen your core as you attempt to maintain your balance and stability. There is no control for backward walking. Simply slow the machine down to a safe rate, depending your ability and hold onto the hand rails, while you walk backward.
Step 8
Carry dumbbells or hand weights while you walk on the treadmill. These will help to boost the resistance level while also increasing your fat and calorie burn.
Things You'll Need
- Treadmill
- Running shoes
- Heart-rate monitor
- Hand weights
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