Strive to maintain a strong, steady driving pace as you sculpt your muscles and improve your cardio health. For advanced athletes, try doing an interval workout with the incline varying between 4-10 percent, going up and down throughout. The higher you go, the harder you'll work your glutes.
Weight Loss
If your goal is to lose weight, you may not need a very steep incline, as treadmills are already a highly effective weight-loss tool. A small incline of around 3-5 will be plenty, but you may choose to go higher if you need greater resistance.
In general, treadmills offer anywhere from 0% (flat) to 15% incline. The higher the incline percentage, the more challenging your workout will be. When your treadmill is set to a 10% incline, you'll feel as though you are walking up a relatively steep hill.
Using the incline on the treadmill effectively burns belly fat, even if it's a 30-minute walking workout at a moderate pace.
From 0 to 4 minutes, walk at 3.5 speed at a 1% incline. From 5 to 7 minutes, walk at 3.7 speed at a 2% incline. From 8 to 10 minutes, walk at 3.7 speed at a 4% incline. From 11 to 12 minutes, walk at 3.8 speed at a 5% incline.
If you're looking for a workout to aid in weight loss, increase your treadmill incline to 3-5% after a solid warm up. If you're an advanced runner, consider increasing the incline to 6-12%. This will help improve your cardiovascular health and challenge your body more.
However, newer models now come with an incline function that resembles an uphill or a hike. Depending on the brand and model, they range from 1-40% percent incline. Although the ideal incline for most people is between 1-7%, stepping out of your comfort zone for a 20%+ incline workout is a good idea from time to time.
For example, a small 2015 study found that the metabolic cost (aka calorie burn) of walking increased by 17 percent when set at a 5-percent incline, and by 32 percent when set at a 10-percent incline when compared to walking on flat ground.
Running at an incline activates the calves, hamstrings and glutes more than running on a “flat road” (0% incline). According to researchers at the University of Georgia, running uphill activates nine percent more muscles each stride compared to running at the same relative intensity on level ground.
To do this as a more low-intensity treadmill workout, set your machine to a high incline (9 to 12) at a moderately paced walking speed (around 3 to 4 mph) for 30 minutes.
Speed Matters When Walking for Fitness
If you're walking for your health, a pace of about 3 miles per hour (or about 120 steps per minute) is about right. That's a 20-minute mile. To walk for weight loss, you'll have to pick up the pace to 4 miles per hour (or 135 steps per minute), a 15-minute mile.
If you want to run a 5k in 20 minutes your body needs to get comfortable running at a speed of 4 minutes/km – or 6 minutes 26 seconds/ mile. Therefore, to better prepare your body for quicker paces you´ll need to adopt a different training plan by incorporating a few well-established methods.
If you're new to incline walking, start slow and increase as you go, Greenwald suggests. Try incline walking for 30 minutes, starting at a walking pace that feels comfortable and doesn't make you lose your breath while speaking.
When it comes to the muscle-strengthening benefits of incline walking vs running, in most cases, as long as the incline is at least moderate, incline walking trumps running. Incline walking is essentially a form of resistance training because walking up an incline requires contending against the force of gravity.
Walking or running on a flat treadmill primarily works your lower body muscles. But, including incline training may benefit endurance and muscle-building because, as Harvard Health reports, it “generates more muscle activity than walking or running on a flat surface, since you work against gravity.”
One study published in the The American College of Sports Medicine found that walking on an incline at a moderate intensity burned more calories and resulted in greater fat loss than running at a steady pace at the same intensity.
So while running is a great way to get in your cardio, adding in some walking on an incline is what's really going to give you a lean, full backside, says Read. Ready to get started? He recommends starting at a 10 percent incline and a 3.5 speed, which will have you on your way to a more defined booty in no time.
Using the RPE scale, warm-up for between 5 and 10 minutes by walking on a flat surface at an RPE between 3 and 4. Then, gradually increase your incline to a level that challenges you, perhaps at an RPE between 6 and 7. Your speed should be brisk but comfortable enough to maintain for 20 to 30 minutes.
The more muscles you're working, the more energy you exert, and the more of your body you're incorporating into a workout, all lead to a higher calorie expenditure. This makes choosing incline for your treadmill workout a no-brainer, as it maximises how much work your body is doing while on the treadmill.
Walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes daily offers numerous benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, weight loss, better mental health, better sleep, and increased energy.