Treadmill Walking Strategies for Easy Fat Loss
Nov 19th, 2008 by Torii Tompson
Treadmill walking is an extremely easy way to help lose weight and stay healthy. A lot of people think losing weight is complicated, but this really isn’t the case. Easy fat loss is achieved when your body burns more calories through exercise than the number of calories you intake from food.
There seems to be an urban legend that leads many people to believe that by walking for a short distance a few times per week they can effectively lose weight. This is certainly not the case; to easily lose weight through walking you would have to walk for about 45 minutes almost every single day.
It’s important to be consistent with your walking schedule and do it on a regular basis if you want to control your weight. Trying to walk around your neighborhood on a flat surface can be ineffective, too.
Walking on a treadmill can be an excellent way to give yourself a more thorough workout. By increasing the incline of the treadmill, you can simulate walking up hill which not only increases your heart rate, but also causes your muscles to work harder and therefore use up more fat.
By doing a treadmill walking session each day, you will easily be able to lose weight, and ensure that those pounds don’t return! However, using a treadmill can mean that you have to stare at the same patch of wall every single day, so here are some top tips to help make your workout a lot more captivating:
Walk the Pyramid: This is a neat little game which is sure to keep you mentally active as well as physically active. You can play this game over the course of your workout; basically when you are doing your treadmill walking, increase the speed by 0.1mph every minute. Do this for half of your workout session, and then for the second half of your session you decrease the speed by 0.1 mph.
1,2,3 Counting Steps: Some people count the seconds or minutes during a treadmill walk. But if numbers are your thing, you might consider counting your steps instead. Count how many steps you take for one minute, then take a break, and then count your steps for another minute. Continue doing this to the end of your workout. Over time, you’ll see the number of steps you take increase, which will be very rewarding.
Step and Walk: This is an excellent technique because it combines all the benefits of using a treadmill with other forms of exercise. Split your workout into equal segments, chunks of 5 or 10 minutes are good. Now, walk on your treadmill for the first segment. Then get off the machine and do another exercise for the next segment - such as using a stepper, lifting weights or perhaps using a rowing machine. Then return to your treadmill for the third segment and repeat throughout your workout.
Travel the World: This is a fun little game where you map out the favorite routes through your neighborhood and then imagine yourself walking there while you’re doing your treadmill walking. What I did was actually record my journey through a local park on my camcorder, and then I watch this while doing my exercise and it’s like being outdoors no matter what the weather.
The key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to keep doing your treadmill walking without getting bored. Don’t be scared to invent your own games and techniques to keep yourself interested and help make your workout seem less like a chore and more like fun!
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