Walking is a low impact form of cardiovascular exercise. When you do cardio, your body goes into calorie-burning mode which melts fat off of your body. A treadmill is a cardio machine that causes you to perform hip extension while you walk on it. Hip extension takes place when you move your thigh backward. This fires up the glutes, leading to a tighter, more toned butt. Walking on the treadmill alone helps achieve this goal, but you can make some alterations to boost your progress.
Step 1
Spend five minutes stretching out your body before you step onto the treadmill. Although walking does not cause a high amount of impact, it can still cause muscle pulls if you are not thoroughly stretched out before workouts. Use this time to do dynamic stretches, which are performed in motion. These simulate exercising movement and reduce your chances for injury. Perform stretches like forward and backward leg swings, waking lunges, arm swings, high knees and deep knee bends.
Step 2
Step onto the belt and turn on the treadmill. Walk at a slow speed at first, then gradually increase it through a five-minute span of time. This warmup will further loosen up your connective tissue, slowly raise your core body temperature and get a good flow of blood pumping to your muscles.
Step 3
Increase the incline. Walking at an incline on a treadmill increases the emphasis on your butt. Find the incline adjustment on the console and turn it up. Treadmill models vary, but most allow you to hit an up arrow button continually or manually hit a specific incline and the belt will automatically move. Raise the incline to a point where you have to almost jog to keep up. Stay at this pace for two minutes.
Step 4
Reduce the incline for a recovery. Walk with the belt in a flat position for four minutes, then turn your incline back up again. Continue to alternate back and forth between an incline and no incline for 30 minutes. Finish with a light five-minute walk with the belt flat and work out three or four days a week.
Step 5
Execute proper form while walking to get the best results. Do not lean on the handrails for support. This will not only take work away from your glutes, but it will also lead to muscle imbalances. Push off the belt forcefully with your feet, pump your arms hard and keep your shoulders lifted throughout. Look straight ahead as you walk.
Tips and Warnings
- By alternating your intensity between moderate and high, you will boost your caloric expenditure. This is called interval training.
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