Treadmill Workouts

By: Richard Romando

When the weather gets nasty outdoors, especially in the cold
winter months, an indoor treadmill can be an excellent way of
exercising. However, treadmill users have a common grouse - that
working out on the treadmill gets to be monotonous and boring
after a while. And that is justified, because staring at the
same four walls during a treadmill workout is much less
appealing than jogging outdoors among the sights of nature.

In order to make a treadmill workout more appealing, experts
have devised many methods of workouts. A good treadmill workout
should be able to work the muscles of the calves, thighs, hips,
butt, abdomen and chest, plus improve circulation. People who
just walk on the treadmill at home without expert surveillance
often end up only exercising their lower limbs and do not
extract the maximum advantages that a treadmill provides.

Other things have to be borne in mind. While treading indoors,
you don't put as much effort as you would outdoors. There is no
wind and no air resistance to drag you behind. The path outside
is stony too, and that means there is no cushiony comfort of the
conveyor belt in the great outdoors. Then there may be traffic
or other people milling around in the opposite direction, which
may require you to deviate from the path. Taking these turns
also requires extra effort. So, since a treadmill workout is
easier than an outdoor sprint, you should tread at a little
higher speed and incline as you would do outdoors.

Listening to music or keeping the television on reduces the
boredom of an indoor workout. It is also necessary to keep the
room well-ventilated and airy to prevent sweatiness and
slipperiness of the belt.

Begin your treadmill workout with a low speed and gradually work
upwards. In order to compensate for lack of air resistance, keep
the speed a little higher than what you are accustomed to
outside. Gradually step up the speed. After a couple of minutes,
you should be sprinting, not walking, but make this an automatic
increase so that you do not realize when you have to begin
sprinting. While stepping on the belt, do not press the belt too
hard, as this would exert more pressure on the shin, causing
shin aches and other muscle aches. Also, take care that the
speed does not go so high that you have to pant and gasp, and
can't speak clearly. Treadmill workouts work best in accordance
with the body capacity of the user.

Reserve half the time of a treadmill workout each day for
incline treading. If you work out for 50 minutes each day (this
time should be possible when you are treading for at least 4
weeks on a daily basis), then keep 25 minutes for inclines. The
same policy works for inclines as horizontal treading. Begin
with a mild incline, like 3 or 4, and gradually work it upwards
up to 8. Treadmill manufacturers try to hook their customers by
providing more inclines, sometimes up to 25, but that limit is
not necessary. A person can increase the incline as days
progress.

As the weeks pass, treadmill users find it boring to do the same
things again and again. There are several fancy treads devised
for them. Walking slowly and then suddenly increasing the speed
is one of them. Another is to hold the console bar with one hand
and slowly sidestep, like trying to move out of the belt. This
works the thigh and the calf muscles. Then there is the backward
walk, which helps to maintain grips especially for ballet
dancers.

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