Walking on a treadmill or using an elliptical trainer raises your heart rate and burns calories. However, a moderate or short cardiovascular workout limits how much fat you burn and hinders weight loss. In addition, if you have been steadily losing weight with aerobic exercise, you need to add new challenges to your treadmill or elliptical routine to avoid hitting a plateau. Make some simple but safe changes to your cardiovascular exercise regimen to accelerate fat burning so you lose weight steadily. If you have health concerns or injuries, speak with your doctor before adopting a more rigorous exercise routine.
Step 1
Double the physical activity recommendations made by the American Heart Association. While 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous activity improves cardiovascular health, it does not burn enough calories to promote weight loss. Set a challenging goal of 300 minutes per week, or 60 minutes five days per week. If you burn 700 calories per hour, you lose 1 lb. per week.
Step 2
Warm up for five to 10 minutes by walking or climbing slowly on your gym machine. Warming up reduces your risk of injury and prepares your body for a rigorous workout.
Step 3
Move at a challenging but sustainable rate. The majority of your treadmill or elliptical workout should consist of your moving vigorously enough to sweat and boost your heart rate. You should be able to speak isolated words but not full phrases.
Step 4
Perform bursts of speed or power every five minutes for the duration of your workout. Set your treadmill at a steep incline for climbing or quicken your pace. On the elliptical machine, move your legs more quickly and your arms more vigorously. Sustain your interval for 30 seconds to one minute. These intervals spike your heart rate so you gain endurance and burn body fat more quickly.
Step 5
Slow to a brisk walk or a moderate climb for 30 seconds to one minute to recover, but do not stop moving. Your heart rate should stay elevated during this recovery period.
Step 6
Repeat your bursts of speed or power for the rest of the workout. If you get fatigued, extend your recovery time.
Step 7
Cool down for five to 10 minutes by slowing your pace. Exit the treadmill or elliptical and do stretches and joint rotations.
Tips and Warnings
- The steeper the incline or the higher the resistance on the gym machine, the more muscle building you incorporate into your cardiovascular workout. Adding muscle tissue raises your metabolism so you lose weight more quickly.
- Interval training taxes your muscles and joints. Schedule rest days or alternate interval-training workouts with days dedicated to longer, slower workouts.
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