Whether you’re new to fitness or already in great shape, a walk on the treadmill can burn calories and improve your cardiovascular fitness if you know how to do it right. As the temperatures start climbing ahead of the official start to summer, the treadmill provides a safe, comfortable way to get or stay in shape. The key to a great treadmill walk is effort and FitClub wants to increase your effort and fitness this summer!
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Use intervals for a higher calorie burn. You don’t have to break into a sprint on the treadmill to increase your calorie burn. Increasing your speed in short bursts can have a dramatic effect on the number of calories you burn and your overall cardiovascular fitness. The best thing about intervals is that you only have to choose a pace that’s challenging enough for you—not your fitter, faster friends. Start with a slow walk to warm up, and then after three to five minutes, increase the speed until you are breathing slightly heavier and challenging yourself. Keep the speed up for thirty to sixty seconds and then drop back down to a lower speed at which you can maintain a conversation. It’s that easy to increase your calorie burn! Just keep repeating until you’ve achieved your mileage or time goal for the workout.
Build stronger muscles. You don’t have to hike a mountain to benefit from an incline. The treadmill makes increasing the incline easy to do while you keep walking and at a certain incline you are going to feel like you’re walking up a mountain! It’s challenging to walk even for a few minutes at a steep incline, but your leg muscles will thank you. With every increase in the incline, your muscles are more engaged, your cardiovascular system is working, and the calories are burning faster than on a flat surface. It’s okay to challenge yourself!
Bring a buddy. Whether you want to catch up while you walk in the air conditioning this summer or you find that you and a friend have a healthy competitive streak that will help you push one another through a grueling treadmill session, having a workout buddy you can count on increases your accountability and helps you get to FitClub on a busy day. When the temperatures become too hot to comfortably walk outside this summer, a walk inside FitClub might give you an even better workout than you find in your neighborhood anyway.
Recovery and cool down. The treadmill is a great way to recover and cool down from any workout. Whether you’ve been strength training or climbing a treadmill mountain, give yourself a slow, steady walk on the treadmill to flush lactic acid out of your muscles and reduce muscle soreness that generally accompanies a challenging workout. Recovery and cool down are essential components to every workout and a challenging walk on the treadmill is no exception.
