How to Walk on a Treadmill

The treadmill continues to be the most popular piece of home exercise equipment. Little wonder, since the machine can be used by people whose levels of fitness fall anywhere from sedentary to competitive athlete. Additionally, treadmills enable individuals to continue their training regimens despite injury or uncooperative weather. Regardless of their popularity however, most treadmills are doomed to a lifetime spent collecting dust and junk in the furthest corner of the owner’s home. Here’s how you can design a treadmill workout program that is both effective and perpetually fresh. By doing so, you’ll get fit and save your treadmill the embarrassment of becoming just another coffee table.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A treadmill
• Running shoes
• A towel

1. Clock Make time. As with any workout program, consistency is critical. Set aside time each day for exercise. Doing so will seem like an imposition at first but as you become accustomed to regular workouts, skipping a day of scheduled exercise will seem as though you’ve done yourself a disservice. Experts call for 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise daily, but unless you’re a competitive athlete, most of us work out five times weekly. Factoring in warm up and cool down periods, plan on setting aside an hour a day.
2. A lonely treadmill Get moving. Most treadmills have a dizzying number of pre-set exercise features that automatically adjust speed and incline settings during the course of timed or set distance workouts. While these workouts are effective, they can also be intimidating for new treadmill users. As a general rule, get comfortable stepping aboard your treadmill and simply hitting the “start” button.
3. Fast or slow. For those just beginning a treadmill routine or recovering from an injury, keep the pace reasonable. Adjust the speed so that you have the feeling you’re walking purposefully. Depending on the treadmill, strive for a setting between 1.5 and 3 miles per hour and adjust from there to ensure you have a steady, determined and safe gait. Don’t walk so slow that you’d impair others on a sidewalk, but don’t walk so fast that you can’t hold your speed. You’ll find that happy medium only through experimentation with the speed button.
4. Mall walking Mall walking. Now that you’re comfortable walking on your treadmill, visualize yourself scurrying from sale to sale at your favorite shopping center. Don’t forget to imagine the wonderful smell of coffee as you walk past the café. Keep landmarks in mind as you progress down the mall. With the aid of the timer on your treadmill, note how long it takes you to arrive at each of those landmarks. If they seem to arrive more slowly on the treadmill than at the mall then increase your speed. On the other hand, if they’re coming at you quicker than in the mall then leave the speed control alone—you’re doing fine!
5. Bags Buy something! If you really were shopping of course, your walk would become increasingly difficult since those new purchases would weigh you down. Fortunately, you can simulate that effect on a treadmill by adjusting its incline. Most machines have a default setting of 1.5 degrees which simulates a flat surface, so double that and feel the difference as you walk at a 3 degree incline. Experiment with incline settings to mimic the difference between a leisurely Saturday afternoon shopping trip and one during which you’re buying gifts for everyone in your family.
6. Las Vegas Boulevard - The Strip Get outside! You’ve been in the mall long enough and now it’s time to take that vacation you’ve been dreaming about. What better way than to take it on your treadmill? After all, you’ve already paid for the machine. On Monday, take a 45-minute stroll through Central Park. Wednesday, set your course for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. As a reward for your hard work, treat yourself to a Friday walk in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo. Put a picture book on your treadmill’s dashboard and turn the pages slowly as you course through the different areas. If you have a television and DVD near your treadmill—always a good tactic—get travel films covering your favorite areas and walk along as the narrator describes the sights, sounds, smells and feel of Orlando, Las Vegas or downtown Tokyo. Increase your speed and incline based on the crowds and terrain you imagine, and vary the distance you’ll walk based on your available time—just as you would on a real vacation.
7. Endless possibilities. Your treadmill workouts are limited only by three things: your dedication, your imagination and the presence of electricity to power your machine. Assuming the last condition is usually always met, the onus is on you to vary the speed, intensity and frequency of your workouts. If you find yourself becoming bored, change any or all of those elements, pop in a new movie and walk, literally, to your heart’s content.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a towel handy to wipe away perspiration during your exercise and have another nearby to wipe off your machine after each use.
• If possible, dedicate a pair of shoes only for use on the treadmill. You’ll extend the life of your machine by keeping it free of dust and dirt, and rocks embedded in the soles of your shoes may slice into the tread.
• Before beginning any exercise routine, discuss your plans with a physician.
• Always clip on the treadmill’s safety cord before starting. Should you stumble, the cord will pull the safety key away from the machine and quickly stop the tread.
• If you feel lightheaded at any time while exercising, stop immediately.