Treadmills are excellent devices for training. Especially during winters when excuses can be made to avoid running due to the cold, having a treadmill will help. An advantage of treadmill running is that it happens indoors. This eliminates concerns like the traffic and weather. Just by changing the speed and gradient of the treadmill, you can jog, sprint, or simulate climbing.
Treadmills are also more shock absorbent than asphalt, thereby lessening the chance of injuries due to impact.
For beginners, treadmill running should be gradually introduced with simple exercises. Simultaneously the muscles and heart should be strengthened and stamina should be increased.
Jogging, running and walking are the basic modes for treadmill workouts. The time and intensity of the workouts should be mild for beginners of treadmill running. Once the beginner gets comfortable with the exercises the intensity can be increased. The shoes and clothes of the beginner should be light and comfortable. It is important that a gap of at least six hours is given after intake of food before treadmill running workouts.
You must always begin treadmill running workouts with a good warm-up. The heart rate should be gradually increased which could be achieved by a slow walk for a minute. Keep walking at a comfortable pace and steadily increase the speed till your breathing becomes heavy. When your breathing becomes regular you can continue to increase the speed still higher. You can make use of various workouts for treadmill running like attaching weights such as dumbbells to your ankles. By doing this you can increase your performance. You may even incline your treadmill and increase the effort level to simulate a hill climb. Walking backwards is a beneficial treadmill workout for the muscles of the back and thighs. It can be used as an exercise to cool down. Few minutes of walking backwards at a slow speed will ease out tense muscles.
Treadmill running is considered very effective in burning calories. A study has shown that on an average 865 to 705 calories were burned by doing 60 minutes of a treadmill workout which is more than other exercise machines. By treadmill running at an incline you can burn calories twice as much. It is important to note that fewer calories are burned if the treadmills handrails are held as the work is not being done entirely by the legs.
A treadmill workout tops the list of cardiovascular workouts using machines. One of the treadmill running benefits is the flexibility of the machine. You can manually control the incline and pace according to your liking. Several workouts which are pre-programmed like hill training and fat burning can be made use of. But perhaps the biggest benefit of treadmill running is the convenience it offers. You can exercise any time regardless of weather and time of year. It is no surprise that The treadmill has gained popularity as a practical and efficient way to achieving fitness.