There are benefits to jumping on the treadmill, especially over winter if you’re not built for the cold alternative of road running. Throw your headphones in and avoid the rain or snow to burn some calories and we have outlined just how to do that.
1. High Intensity Interval Training
Technique
- Split your workout in to working and rest periods
- Ensure your rest is equal to or slightly shorter than your working period
- An example would be 20 seconds hard work and 10 seconds rest
- The hint is in the ‘High Intensity’ so make sure you hit a sprint pace
2. Low Intensity Steady State
‘LISS’ is the easier option if you do not feel like HIIT will apply to you for any reason. May take longer but you will see similar results and as much as a sweat.
Technique
- Vary the difficulty of a brisk walk or slow run
- Use lower speeds to keep it steady
- Vary the incline without using Hill Climbs to amend the difficulty
3. Hill Intervals
Adding hills to your workout can increase your calorie burning capacity. Walking energetically or running at an incline can burn more calories per minute. Hills are the concentric movement patterns that help in losing weight quickly in a short interval and also strengthen our muscles for further strenuous workouts.
Technique
- Start off with a slight incline to warm up.
- You can use the hill settings on the treadmill or determine your own.
- Vary the inclines to maintain a challenging workout.
TIP:Don’t hold on and lean back. Treat it as you would walking up a normal hill.
4. Increasing Intervals
A great way to introduce interval training and workout your capacity while burning calories in the process.
Technique
- Start off by selecting a resting walking pace.
- Splitting your workout into intervals. You will use the walking pace for 60-90 seconds.
- Start by matching the walking pace but increase your running sections each time
- You can finish sprinting or with a heavy jog
5. Enter the Fat Burning Zone
While using the treadmill, we should work out in our fat-burning zone. It will help lose weight and burn more calories.
Technique
- Calculate the maximum heart rate which is the number of heartbeats per minute and the burning zone will be 70% of the heart rate.
- You can get to this target by briskly walking or a steady run over time.
- Start slower and steadily increase the intensity.
- Each Treadmill will have sensors to monitor your Heart Rate if you don’t have access to heart monitors including watches or straps.
Take Home Message
The treadmill can be seen as a pretty boring piece of equipment, but these variations will spice up your cardio sessions and help you lose weight. Two birds, one treadmill.
