The best treadmill routine for you is based on your fitness goals. Some people want to maintain a treadmill regimen that supports overall heart health and fitness. Other people aim to burn the most calories in the shortest amount of time. Your ideal treadmill routine may include challenges that build your endurance or exercises that give it a strengthening and flexibility component.
Fitness Routine
For people just beginning a cardiovascular exercise program or for those who want to maintain healthy hearts, follow the activity guidelines established by the American Heart Association. You need to walk briskly on a treadmill for at least 150 minutes per week, or 30 minutes every weekday. If you speed-walk or jog, you can reduce your number of minutes to 75 per week. These treadmill workouts raise your heart rate and get your blood pumping oxygen to your muscles.
Weight Loss Workouts
If you want to burn enough calories to lose weight or maintain weight loss, you need to adopt a more intense treadmill routine. The best treadmill routine for weight loss is running at a fast pace. Jogging five miles in one hour will burn between 584 and 872 calories. Running eight miles in one hour increases your calories burned to between 986 and 1,472. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn.
Interval Training
Burn more fat and increase your stamina by setting your treadmill for an interval training workout. You can also program your own interval training workout on the treadmill by increasing the intensity to a sprint every five minutes. A typical interval training session begins with up to 10 minutes of walking briskly to warm up and lubricate your joints. Walk, jog or run at a vigorous but sustainable pace. Every five minutes, do a 15- or 30-second burst of speed. Slow to a walking pace for one minute to recover and return to your vigorous pace. Repeat this cycle every five minutes and your heart rate stays elevated longer than if you worked out at a steady pace.
Muscle Building
Treadmill workouts provide more aerobic exercise than strengthening work. However, you can modify your treadmill routine to target your major muscle groups. Setting your treadmill at a steep grade for part of your workout builds strength in your legs and gluteal muscles. Wearing wrist weights and doing bicep curls, flies, tricep lifts or pectoral presses targets your upper body muscles. Breathe deeply and contract your abdominal muscles to engage your core during a treadmill workout.
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