Treadmill Walking For Effective Fat Loss

You don't have to run on your treadmill to lose fat. Walking is a great way to lose weight and prepare you for more intense forms of exercise, according to the Mayo Clinic. It is gentle, low-impact and is appropriate for most people. To make your treadmill walking workouts effective for fat loss you need to do enough exercise and challenge yourself.

Cardio Recommendations

Walking is a form of cardiovascular exercise. If you need to lose a moderate amount of fat, or 3 percent or less of your body weight, accumulate approximately 150 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise each week, according to Dr. Len Kravitz of the University of New Mexico. To see significant changes of 5 percent or more of your body weight, accumulate 225 to 420 minutes per week. Split your workouts over five to seven days each week for 30 to 60 minutes per session.

Importance of Intensity

Jogging or running burns more calories than walking. The key factor is the intensity of your workouts. There is a direct correlation between intensity and calories burned. The more calories you burn, the more fat you will lose. For example, a 150-lb. person walking at 3.5 mph will burn approximately 129 calories in 30 minutes, according to the American Council on Exercise Physical Activity Calculator. If this person increases their pace to 4 mph they will burn about 170 calories in 30 minutes. Add incline and/or increase walking speed to make your treadmill workout more effective.

Exercise Plateaus

It is common and even expected that you will reach a fat loss plateau where you stop losing weight. As you exercise your fitness improves and your body does not have to work as hard as it did in the beginning. When you start, walking at 4 mph may have been too hard, but now is not a problem. You need to challenge your body by changing your workouts. You can do this by adjusting frequency of sessions, duration of workouts, intensity or possibly adding in other activities in order to stimulate fat loss again.

Other Considerations

Adding strength training two to three times per week will also help you see more fat loss, as well as tone your muscles. Perform one exercise for each major muscle group to increase your metabolism and lose weight. Do one set of eight to 12 repetitions for each exercise. Also, adjusting your diet will aid fat loss. Reduce your caloric intake by 10 to 20 percent to help reach your fat loss goals without feeling hungry.