Treadmill walking is an excellent way for anyone to exercise. As a diabetic, exercising is vitally important for you to prevent the onset of other diseases. MayoClinic.com shows that exercise for diabetics keeps your blood sugar in control, helps you lose weight, and keeps you in overall good shape. Exercise also reduces your risk of heart disease and nerve damage. With the convenience of a treadmill, exercise is as easy as hitting the start button and letting the machine take control.
Treadmill Efficiency
A benefit of treadmill walking is its efficiency. Whether in your home or in your gym, a treadmill is ready to go when you are. The smooth and level surface of a treadmill guarantees that you won't have to worry about potholes in a road or rocky, steep hills. Most treadmills come with incline and speed variables. Many treadmills also come with pre-programmed courses that allow the machine to set the pace and incline, so you adapt as you go. Treadmills also show you the number of calories you have burned as you walk. You are in control of all the variables on a treadmill, and that's also one key to preventing boredom.
Speed Intervals
Adding speed interval training to your treadmill workout can greatly increase the number of calories you burn and improve your cardiovascular system. Start at a comfortable pace, say 3.5 mph, for three to four minutes. When this pace feels comfortable, increase your speed to a brisk walk pace, around 4 mph, for one minute. Return to your original pace of 3.5 for one minute. Increase your speed to 4.2 for one minute and then return to 3.5 for one minute. This routine is a great way to add speed to your workout, help you burn more calories and is a great benefit of treadmill walking.
Incline Intervals
According to Diabeticlifestyle.com, most doctors recommend diabetics walks on a treadmill at a 10 percent incline and eventually work up to a 15 percent incline. Begin your walk at a zero incline. Set your pace to one that is comfortable for you. Allow three to four minutes for your muscles to adapt to the treadmill. Once you feel comfortable with your pace, increase the incline to 10 percent for one minute. Return to zero incline for one minute and then increase the incline to 10 percent for another minute. This cycle of zero-to-10-percent incline allows your legs to adapt to simulated hills that you would encounter on the road. A benefit of treadmills is that you are in control of the incline, so you don't have to worry about hills that are too steep.
Combining Workouts
Try combining speed interval training with incline interval training. Acefitness.org recommends interval training to prevent boredom. Change a variable every minute. Once you've established your comfortable pace, increase the speed for one minute and then return to your original pace for one minute. Change the incline for one minute, and then change it back. By constantly changing variables every minute, you reap the true benefits of treadmill walking. Your time on the treadmill becomes both enjoyable and beneficial.
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