Exercising on the treadmill causes impact on your knees, hips and ankles. The faster you run, the more impact you feel. The good news is, you can burn a lot of calories on the treadmill, which can promote weight loss or weight maintenance. The best treadmill exercise depends on your personal goals. Before you do any workout, it is smart to get cleared by your doctor.
Loosening Up
Regardless if you are walking briskly or running on the treadmill, you activate multiple muscles and joints throughout the entire body. To prevent muscle injuries, perform a series of dynamic stretches. These are done in a steady motion instead of being held. Walking lunges, high knee raises, ankle bounces, arm circles and trunk rotations are examples. Follow these up with a five-to-10-minute warm-up on the treadmill. Gradually increase your speed through your warm-up to slowly increase your core body temperature.
Interval Training Workout
A steady paced workout for an extended period of time can increase your aerobic capacity and cause weight loss. Interval training however, can boost your progress in both of these areas. The treadmill comes equipped with a speed adjustment. To do interval training, start out at a slow speed, then increase it to a point that is about 8 on an intensity scale of 0 to 10. This is called the rate of perceived exertion scale, or RPE for short. Remain at your high intensity pace for 30 seconds and reduce your speed to a point that is about 5 on the RPE scale. Remain here for 60 seconds, then increase your speed again. Continue to alternate back and forth for 30 minutes and finish with a light cool-down.
Sprint Training
Treadmills have handrails that run along the top edge. These come in handy when you do sprint training. This type of workout involves a blend of all-out effort and complete rest. After doing a warm-up, increase the speed so you are in a full sprint. Once you have ran for 10 seconds, place your hands on the handrails, lift your body in the air and place your feet on the sides of the belt. Rest for 20 seconds, carefully raise yourself back up and go back into a full sprint. Alternate back and forth for 20 minutes and finish with a light cool-down at a slow pace. Sprint training burns a high amount of calories while you do it and it keeps your metabolism elevated when you are done.
Incline Workout
Treadmills have incline features as well as speed adjustments. If you want to spare your body impact, use the incline while walking. Start out with a light warm-up, then increase the incline to three percent. Remain here for two minutes, then reduce the incline and walk for two minutes. Increase the incline again, but this time to four percent. Walk again for two minutes and reduce it for two minutes. Continue this pattern until you get to eight percent incline. Then finish with a five-minute light cool-down with no grade on the belt. As you increase the incline, you will have to decrease your speed slightly to remain at a brisk walking pace. Every time you reduce the incline, increase your speed.
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