The truth is, walking on a treadmill has great health benefits, is more widely available, and is a wonderful low-impact exercise that you can do every day. According to the CDC, Americans need at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week. This can be a brisk-paced walk for at least 10 minutes at a time.
“Both outdoor walking and treadmill walking can improve cardiovascular health and endurance,” says Sharma. Regular walking, regardless of the setting, helps strengthen the heart, reduce blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Treadmill workouts are absolutely not a waste of time. In fact, they offer a very effective training alternative for a variety of reasons, especially when running on the road is not an option. Road running and treadmill running do have their differences, but there are ways to compensate for those differences.
Frequency: Once you are used to treadmill walking, you can do it every day of the week. Walking at a brisk pace for 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week, or a total of 150 to 300 minutes per week, is recommended to reduce health risks.
Treadmill walking can be a great way to log your cardio exercise and improve your overall health. Whether you want to burn fat, lose weight, build muscle, or improve your cardiovascular system, spending some time on the treadmill can bring you one step closer to achieving those goals.
In most cases, running is a better workout than walking in terms of being more demanding for the body, resulting in a higher number of calories burned per minute, greater improvements in cardiovascular fitness, and yielding more significant increases in bone density and muscular strength.
Disadvantages to Using a Treadmill
The cushioned surface of the treadmill may still inflict too much of a jarring impact on the back or stress the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Testing the surface and rebound is critical. They can take up a lot of space.
Workout Goal: 10,000 Steps a Day
For instance, a 160 cm tall person walking at 4 mph would take 75 minutes to achieve 10,000 steps, with an average of 134 steps per minute. On the other hand, a 180 cm tall person would take around 80 minutes to attain the same result, with an average step count of 125 steps per minute.
According to a 2018 study published in the journal Obesity, walking 10,000 steps a day is associated with weight loss and weight management. Plus, it's a low-impact exercise, making it accessible for all fitness levels.
Although the “as long as possible” answer does seem a bit too easy and convenient, it's actually quite true. Not in the extremes though. Try to put in at least thirty minutes on a treadmill every day, and you'll start noticing results very soon. Yes, treadmills are that good when it comes to burning belly fat.
Going for a brisk walk or jog on the treadmill 3-4 times a week for 30-45 minutes will be enough to stay healthy and fit. If you are a beginner with little experience running, start off by jogging at a slow and comfortable pace incorporating regular walking intervals for 15-20 minutes a few times a week.
Achieving Your Fitness Goals
With adjustable speeds and heights, smart treadmills are suitable for all fitness levels, so whether you are a beginner starting out with your exercise journey, or you are an individual who has been training at a high level for years, a treadmill is the perfect exercise equipment for you.
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.
Generally, the treadmill burns a lot of calories and provides an intense workout, but the risk of treadmill injuries is higher. Regular stationary bikes don't burn as many calories per minute as treadmills, but there is potential to work out more, due to stationary bikes being low-impact exercise equipment.
Treadmill walking is a great way to burn extra calories each day to help you lose weight. Aim to burn 300 extra calories per day with cardio exercise such as brisk walking. This is about 60 minutes per day of moderately-intense exercise, in addition to controlling the number of calories you are eating.
There are 7,700kcals (kcal=calorie) worth of energy in 1kg of fat. That means in order to burn 1kg of fat, you must have a calorie deficit of 7,700.
After 3-4 days of walking: you will notice the “better fit” or more room in your clothes! After 7 days of walking: real changes are happening! You have used body fat as energy (fat burning!) Muscles feel more toned!
About walking
Just 30 minutes every day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.
Ideally one should walk 300 minutes a week on the treadmill for extensive health benefits, including weight loss. One can reach this goal by walking 43 to 44 minutes each day. This will help your burn 1 kilo in a week. But if you have just embarked on the weight loss journey then start with 20 minutes a day.
How much weight you can lose from walking depends on your current weight, diet and activity level. We recommend losing no more than 1 to 2 pounds per week for sustainable weight loss, which means you could potentially lose 10 pounds in five weeks.
Have you ever felt that holding on to the rails kind of kills the power of your workout? If yes, you are right. Turns out, you should try your best not to hold onto the handrails while running on a treadmill. The only reason the handrails are there is for your safety.
Since the majority of people run differently, depending on whether they're on flat ground or uphill, referring to your treadmill for amount of calories burned isn't a helpful measurement. Instead, focus on running at a controlled, strong pace uphill to maximize your workout and activate the largest muscles.