Many people are wondering and asking the question, can you lose weight with a treadmill? The answer is simple: yes, you can lose weight by walking on a treadmill. It is just one of the many exercises you can do to reduce your weight.
In all honesty, walking may be an effective strategy for weight loss, particularly for those who find jogging, sprinting, cycling, or other forms of exercise uncomfortable or boring.
The objective is to exercise with sufficient intensity to burn more calories per day than you consume. And without a doubt, walking on a treadmill can really help you to do this.
Weight Loss By Walking On A Treadmill
Let’s now discuss how walking on a treadmill may be an effective calorie-burning activity.
Many of us may view walking as a “simple” form of exercise, but like any other activity, you can vary the intensity of walking to match your needs.
As with any other exercise that raises your heart rate, walking can bring a variety of other health advantages in addition to weight reduction, such as increased heart health, lower body strength, and endurance.
And the nice thing regarding walking is that many individuals can do it without difficulty. People who experience pain or discomfort when running can typically walk without difficulty.
Remember that in order to lose weight, you must discover a way to burn more calories than you consume. This can be accomplished by dietary modifications, but it is simpler and easier if you do workout and burn more calories simultaneously.
Personally, I’ve always been better at doing workouts to burn more calories than consuming fewer, but each person has their own opinion and strategy. However, walking on the treadmill is a fantastic way to burn calories.
For example, if you are using one of the best treadmills such as the Weslo Cadence G 5.9i Cadence Folding Treadmill, you will be able to set various speeds and terrains for the more effective burning of calories. This treadmill will also give you information on how many calories you have burned during your workouts.
You need to know that exercise machines are known for overestimating the number of calories expended. Therefore, I am aware that these statistics are probably not entirely true.
However, the argument I’m attempting to make here is still true; just be patient. In regards to calorie expenditure, it is also important to note that the larger you are, the more calories you will be able to burn during any exercise.
This is why treadmills and other workout machines require your weight – they use it to compute the number of calories you’re burning.
Moving a 270-pound person requires more energy than moving a 190-pound person. Hence, the 270 lb person will burn more calories while performing the same work as the 190 lb person. It makes sense, doesn’t it?
Read More: Best Tips for Beginner Treadmill Workout for Weight Loss
Best way to use a treadmill for weight loss
So, the treadmill is an extremely popular cardio workout machine. In addition to being a multipurpose piece of cardio equipment, a treadmill may aid in weight loss if that is your objective.
In regard to helping you lose weight, treadmill exercise provides additional advantages. For example:
- The treadmill is available anytime
- You are able to watch your favorite movies, TV shows, and video spots while exercising
- The handrails on the treadmill are helpful for those recuperating from an injury
- As with any cardiovascular activity, it can lower your risk of heart disease and other related illnesses, improve your sleep, raise your mood, and enhance your cognitive performance
Treadmills are available to people of all fitness levels since they are provided at nearly every gym. Also, if you prefer to work out at home, you can easily add a treadmill to your home gym.
With the intention of losing weight, your treadmill does not need to be one of the best treadmills in the premium class. Some of the cheaper ones, like one of the best treadmills under $300, can also do a great job of reducing your weight.
Let’s examine the fundamentals of treadmill weight loss, as well as different training programs and helpful hints.
1. (HIIT) High-intensity interval training
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) consists of intervals of intense activity and recovery.
According to a 2017 study, HIIT workouts are always an efficient approach to reducing body fat and burning calories in less time.
The goal is to exercise at a high intensity for short periods of time, followed by brief intervals of recovery. This burns many calories, contributing to reducing weight.
In addition, your body strives to return to its normal resting condition following a HIIT workout. It achieves this by converting body fat into energy.
Here is how you can perform HIIT on a treadmill:
- You need to adjust the treadmill to be flat, and then, in order to warm up, you need to walk for about 5 minutes at 2 mph.
- Run at a speed between 9 and 10 mph for 30 seconds.
- Then just walk at 3 to 4 mph for 60 seconds.
- Repeat this 5 to 10 times.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of brisk walking at 2 mph.
For a more difficult exercise, switch between jogging and sprinting. You may also extend the duration of each high-intensity set. Your rest intervals should ideally be twice as long as your intervals of high intensity.
2. Find the fat-burning zone
During treadmill activity, exercising at a heart rate that burns fat can aid in reducing weight. This is a zone where the maximum calories are burned each minute.
To determine the fat-burning zone, you must first determine your maximal heart rate. This is the highest number of times that your heart can pulse in one minute of physical activity.
So if you are wondering how to calculate your maximum heart rate, don’t worry. It is easy and simple. You just need to take out your age number from 220. For example, if you are 47 years old, your maximum heart rate will be 173 beats per minute (220-47=173).
So, your fat-burning zone will be 70 percent of your maximal heart rate. In this case, if your maximum heart rate is 173 beats per minute, then your fat-burning zone will be 121.1 beats per minute (173 x 0.70 = 121.1).
This value will indicate the amount of effort required to achieve weight loss. Here is one approach:
- A heart rate monitor can be worn on the wrist or chest. Flatten the treadmill’s deck, and then you need to warm up by walking at 2 mph for about 5 minutes.
- Furthermore, you need to adjust the incline to 2% and then start running at 4 mph for about 1 minute.
- After that, you need to run between 8 and 10 mph, or until you reach your fat-burning zone. Then run for about 15 to 30 minutes while maintaining this heart rate.
- The next step is to run at 4 mph for about one minute.
- After this, you need to cool down by brisk walking at 2 mph for about 5 minutes.
The typical fat-burning zone is 70 percent, but everyone is different. But, some individuals may enter the fat-burning zone at 58% of their maximal heart rate, while others may require 82%. It depends on factors such as gender, age, degree of fitness, and medical issues.
Additionally, you may enter your fat-burning zone at a slower treadmill pace. Also, a fitness instructor can assist in determining the correct pace and heart rate for weight reduction.
3. Change your workout routine and do different workouts
Altering your schedule is an additional method for treadmill weight reduction. So, by performing unique workouts each time, you can avoid the next:
- Repetitive workouts put a strain on your joints, increasing your risk of injury. It raises the possibility of overuse injuries, which might set you back.
- Avoid a workout rut. The more you perform a certain exercise, the fewer results you will notice. So, in order to improve your body, you will need to challenge yourself.
- Prevent monotony. You are more likely to adhere to your regimen if you vary your training routine frequently.
Here is an example of a fitness plan that includes several treadmill routines as part of a well-rounded workout:
- Sunday: relaxation, a brisk stroll, or mild stretching
- Monday: for about 20 to 30 minutes, do a HIIT treadmill workout
- Tuesday: Do moderate treadmill running and strength training
- Wednesday: relaxation, a brisk walk, or mild stretching
- Thursday: do strength training and moderate treadmill running
- Friday: for about 20 to 30 minutes, you need to do a HIIT treadmill workout
- Saturday: strength training
4. Add Hills
Add hills to a treadmill workout to make it tougher. Walking quickly (moderate) or running uphill burns more calories since the body must use more effort.
In addition, it engages more muscles, which helps in the development of greater lean muscle mass. This aids in weight loss because muscle burns more calories than fat.
If you prefer to do a workout on an incline, consider the following treadmill workout:
- Flatten the treadmill’s deck. Warm up by walking for about 5 minutes at a speed of 2 mph.
- Then, reduce the slope to 1% and run for 1 minute at a speed of 4 to 6 miles per hour.
- Increase the inclination by 1% every minute. Repeat until you have an inclination of 8 to 10%.
- Every minute, reduce the slope by 1%. Repeat until the inclination is between 0% and 1%.
- Next, do 5 minutes of brisk walking at 2 mph to cool down.
Usually, the average running pace is between 4 and 6 mph. You may raise the tempo or add extra minutes to this workout to make it more difficult.
For an easier version, increase the inclination by 0.5 percent per minute. Repeat until you achieve an inclination of 4 to 5 percent, then work in reverse.
Weight loss benefits
In addition to reducing weight, cardio exercise, such as a treadmill workout, has several additional advantages, such as:
- enhance endurance
- blood sugar control
- boost levels of healthy (HDL) cholesterol
- enhance memory and mental processes
- safeguard against Alzheimer’s
- improve skin health
- reinforce muscles
- reduce tiredness
- reduce joint stiffness
- reduce anxiety and stress
- support better sleep
- boost energy levels
- enhance your immune system
- boost sexual arousal
Conclusion
And if you’re striving to lose weight, walking may be an effective form of exercise that helps you achieve your objectives. As previously said, the key to weight loss is burning more calories than you eat.
So again, can you lose weight with a treadmill? Of course, you can lose weight by walking on the treadmill. As a kind of aerobic exercise, treadmill use is a great means of calorie burning and weight loss. Plus, if you walk on a treadmill with the incline feature turned on, your workouts may get a lot harder.
But, you need to consult a skilled personal trainer if you’re uncertain as to which form of treadmill training is ideal for you. They can collaborate with you to design a treadmill-based weight loss program.
Combine treadmill exercises with strength training for optimal results. Both types of exercise are beneficial for weight reduction and general health.
If you’re new to exercise or haven’t exercised in a while, see your physician before beginning a new fitness plan.