A treadmill is the best friend of those who want to lose weight, tone up, become stronger and more resilient. Advanced runners return to it from the street tracks in the autumn-winter season, bodybuilders stand on it before the workout for a warm-up, and those who came to the gym for the first time start their way to the big fitness from it. At the same time, the treadmill running program is the same for most of the exercisers: first 5 minutes of walking, then running at the most familiar, usually not too fast pace, at the end – a rapid acceleration, and then another five minutes of cooldown with light running or walking.
Such a mode of exercise will certainly make you more resilient and ultimately lead to weight loss – but it will not happen soon. The treadmill workout program for weight loss should be special. There are several different programs of work on the treadmill. Most likely, they are already built into your simulator: choose the option on the display when you start the workout. We will try to describe the most popular and effective programs, so that you can train more efficiently and achieve your goals faster.
Table of Contents
Some rules for treadmill workouts
Treadmill exercises should start with a warm-up.
Before you get on the simulator, do a light joint warm-up:
Rotate your legs and arms. Bend and stretch several times to feel the blood flow to your muscles.
Never start a workout without a warm-up – it can lead to injuries.
Then move on to the warm-up on the treadmill. But first we advise you to read the article about the pros and cons of treadmills. Spend the first five to ten minutes of the workout to prepare your body and especially your leg muscles for further exercises on the treadmill. Start with a light walk, gradually increasing the speed and incline of the moving belt.
The treadmill workout should make you stronger and healthier, not aggravate your health problems. Therefore, always monitor your well-being and do not try to continue the exercise if you feel bad. Sharp pain, breathing problems, joint pain – these are reasons to stop the simulator immediately. Exercises on the treadmill make us sweat and lose a lot of fluid. So do not forget to drink during the workout. Put a bottle of water next to you – so you do not have to stop the exercise when you want to take a sip of water. Do not neglect safety techniques. Do not get on the belt of the treadmill right away: first stand with your feet on the edges of the simulator and turn it on, and when the belt starts to move, carefully move to the center of the simulator. Your treadmill has an emergency stop system, which usually looks like a red clip – attach it to your clothing. Try to avoid a sudden stop of movement – it is harmful for the cardiovascular system. Finishing the workout, gradually reduce the speed of running, switch to walking, and only then press the stop button. Do not forget to do a little stretching after the workout to relax your tired muscles.
Basic programs for exercise and weight loss on the treadmill
The treadmill running program can be made by your personal instructor if you came to the gym with a specific goal. Working on an individually built program always becomes more effective.
However, if you do not want to spend money on working with a personal trainer, you will also fit the standard treadmill workout program. Explore the options that are distributed by other runners on the Internet, or use one of the programs that we will offer in this article. Pay attention to the choice of the program – it depends on the speed of achieving the goal.
Exercises on the treadmill can become your main type of fitness workout, or alternate with other activities. But if you decide to run on the treadmill in accordance with our programs, you will have to train from four to six times a week. Regular running exercises will help you quickly achieve your goal. And irregular exercises will not lead to anything: as everywhere in fitness, there is a rule here that it is better to do a little, but every day, than for a long time, but once a week.
During running workouts, fluid is primarily lost. Therefore, it is not worth weighing yourself before and after the workout and comparing the result – most likely, it will be significant, but this will not mean that you have lost fat. A kilogram of fat is equal to 8000 calories. For one workout you will not be able to burn so much, most likely, even during an intensive exercise you will lose a maximum of 100 grams of fat.
So do not rush and do not expect quick results, but tune in to a long work.
There is a pulse zone, during which the body burns fat most actively.
Calculate it like this:
220 – your age * 0.7. This value plus-minus 10% – the pulse that needs to be maintained during a long monotonous work. The maximum pulse during running is calculated as 220 – your age. In no case do not exceed this value – it can be dangerous.
Do not eat carbohydrate food before running workout. If you ate, for example, a banana, then during the exercise you will spend energy obtained from it, and not from your own fat reserves. Yes, after carbohydrate food it will be easier to run, but you will not achieve the goal. Try not to eat 1-2 hours before the workout.
Workout Program 1
The most effective program for weight loss on a treadmill is an interval program. Its essence is that you alternate intervals of maximum intensity work with intervals of lighter running or rest. The fat-burning effect is achieved by the fact that you start the process in the active phase, and the body continues to spend energy in the rest phase, while you quickly recover. Interval training allows you to achieve results in a shorter time of exercise.
The first stage of the exercise is a warm-up. Start with 5-10 minutes of light walking at a slight incline of the track. Then move on to the running warm-up: set the speed of the track at the level of 7-9 km / h. (it should be easy for you, but you should not go). This stage will last 5-7 minutes.
Now we move on to the main part of the workout. Alternate two minutes of the fastest possible running for you (12-15 km / h) with one minute of light running at the warm-up speed. This stage must be repeated from six to 10 times during one exercise. You can change the duration of the intervals: for example, by reducing them by half
This treadmill running program is good because you can adjust the intervals to suit the features of your preparation. Beginners can make active intervals shorter and the rest phase longer. Those who have been training for a long time and can keep a high pace may need to increase the incline of the track to achieve the required intensity of the exercise. The workout can last from 30 to 60 minutes and is considered a necessary part of both weight loss programs and long-distance competitive running programs.
Workout Program 2
The second treadmill workout program for weight loss is simpler, more monotonous and longer. It is based on the fact that the main fat-burning process starts after thirty to forty minutes of aerobic exercise. The first twenty to thirty minutes of the exercise you burn glycogen, stored in the liver and muscles. If you ate carbohydrate food shortly before the workout, the duration of this interval increases: you need to burn all the available energy, so that the body starts to extract it from your fat reserves.
This program also starts with a warm-up stage. Spend 5-10 minutes on a light walk, do not forget to work with your hands. Then move on to the running warm-up – a light run at a speed of 7-9 km / h. for 5-7 minutes. Then move on to the main stage of the treadmill running program for weight loss. This stage has a longer duration – at least 30-40 minutes or even more, if you are resilient enough. At this stage, it is important to monitor the pulse zone: your pulse should be 65-70% of the maximum. We calculated this target zone a little earlier.
The workout ends with a light run for 5-7 minutes, and then a few minutes of walking to restore breathing.
The pulse zone can be measured using a heart rate monitor in the handles of the simulator, fitness trackers and smart watches, which transmit the indicators to special running applications. If you do not have such a device, you can roughly estimate your pulse value. For this you do not have to stop and measure it: in the target zone of this program during running you do not lose the ability to speak and do not get out of breath when trying to maintain a conversation. So periodically during the run try to sing or say something: in this simple way you can check if you adhere to the required indicators.
Recommended exercises
The program for weight loss on a treadmill should be varied: you do not need to repeat the same workout every day. Alternate different treadmill running programs. Include other aerobic activities in your weekly plan – cycling, swimming, dancing. The treadmill workout program can also include exercises on the treadmill. Exercises will help diversify your workouts, as well as improve your coordination and allow you to have some fun.
One of these exercises is running sideways or side steps.
Start as usual with a light warm-up, then move on to the running warm-up and run for 5-7 minutes at the same pace. Now turn to the left: face the left handle of the simulator. If necessary, hold on to the handles to avoid falling. Run like this for thirty seconds or a minute. Then turn your face in the direction of movement and repeat the exercise on the right side. The most important thing is to follow the technique: move your legs at the same pace, but do not cross them. Repeat this exercise as many times as it takes to make the workout last at least thirty minutes. Finish the workout with a light running cooldown and walking to restore breathing.
The treadmill running program for those who want not only to lose weight, but also to become more resilient and learn to run long distances, should contain four types of workouts.
The first type is interval running, the program of which we offered above. This workout helps burn fat and increase your endurance. The second type is long running, this is the longest possible run at a slow pace that you can handle. It corresponds to the second program we proposed. The third type of workouts is speed running. Short runs at the maximum possible speed for you, which you include in your weekly program, will help in the end to increase the overall speed of long runs. Your cardiovascular system will be better prepared for intense loads. The fourth type is running on hills: alternate intervals of running uphill with intervals of running on flat ground. During the ascents and descents, the leg muscles work differently, and for those who want to participate in races and even marathons, it is important to be prepared for these features of work.
The treadmill is a powerful and convenient simulator that will help you achieve your goals, including acquiring a beautiful slim figure. It helps to burn calories quickly. To make the workouts interesting to you, and the effect was achieved quickly, choose different workouts for yourself, do not focus on any one type of activity.
- Talk to runners and trainers to make your own personal exercise plan.
- Follow the recommendations and advice of doctors to avoid injury and not hate running forever.
- The most important thing during a workout on a treadmill is to enjoy the process.
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