The Best Ways To Work Out On A Treadmill For The Fastest Results

Walking, jogging and running are moderate- to high-intensity activities that challenge the cardiovascular system and burn a lot of calories, making it ideal for weight loss. There are many ways in which to use a treadmill for fast results, whether you are an experienced or a novice exerciser. The minimum amount of cardiovascular exercise, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, is 30 minutes a day, five days per week of moderate-intensity activity, or 20 minutes, three days a week of high-intensity exercise. For fast weight loss or cardiovascular gains, you may need to do more than this minimum recommendation.

Time

If you are a novice exerciser, do not start on the treadmill at a high-intense pace. You need to acclimate and get your body accustomed to exercise. Start with walking or light jogging. See how long you can continue until you become tired or out of breath. Try to increase your time by two to three minutes every time you are on the treadmill. Once you can get to 30 to 45 minutes of a brisk walk or jog, it is time to increase the intensity and the calorie burn.

Hills

Many people do not like to run, but walking on hills burns almost as many calories. Increase the incline of the treadmill to 5 percent but maintain your average brisk walking pace. Do not hold on to the handlebars. Each session, increase your incline 2 percent to 3 percent until you reach 15 percent, which is the max on most treadmills. Walking on an incline will increase your heart rate plus activate all the muscles in your legs, helping to sculpt and tone.

Sprints

If you are accustomed to jogging or running on the treadmill but want faster results, try sprints for either time or distance. Timed sprints involve a set time, such as 60 seconds of sprinting as fast as you can, followed by an active recovery period of a minute or two. Distance sprints involve trying to sprint to a mileage point on the treadmill, such as a half mile as fast as you can, and progressively trying to decrease your time.

Intervals

The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends high-intensity interval training for weight loss and improving endurance. Steady-state cardiovascular exercise is good, but intervals really challenge the system and require a lot of effort and, therefore, burn the most calories. Intervals can involve both sprints and hills, but are more intense. For example, if you normally do 60-second sprint training at 8 miles per hour, then for interval training do 20-second sprints at 10 miles per hour at a 10 percent incline. Keep changing it up. This is the time to really challenge yourself.