In this article we’re going to look at the exercise part of losing weight. More specifically, the focus is going to be on 7 ways to lose weight fast using a home treadmill.
Losing weight has always been a controversial topic. Some people believe in those magic pills, while others only focus on their diet. Then of course you get people who’ve seen the light. These are the people who realize losing weight fast is a combination of healthy exercise and a balanced diet.
If you don’t do the work then you’re not going to lose those extra pounds. Continue reading to see how you can easily implement a treadmill weight loss plan for faster weight loss.
Tracking Your Heart Rate?
Before getting into the ways on how you can make the most out of your treadmill for weight loss, it’s important to understand one thing.
Your heart rate plays a very important role when it comes to reaching your “fat burning” zone.
This is also why modern treadmills usually allow you to keep track of stats such as how many calories burned on treadmill and heart rate. Your target heart rate should be averaging 80 percent of your maximum heart rate for burning fat.
Here is a simple calculation you can do to get your maximum rate.
For the guys, subtract your age from 220. For the ladies, subtract your age from 226.
Now that you know what your heart rate should be, let’s get into the 7 ways you can maximize your time on the treadmill and lose weight quickly.
Take note that effectively burning fat on the treadmill means a combination of avoiding typical mistakes and exploring different techniques.
In other words, get the basics right from the start and be prepared to go that extra mile.
7 Tips To Lose Weight Fast On A Treadmill
Looking for the best way to lose weight on a treadmill? Listed below are 7 treadmill weight loss tips that are easy to do and provide results.
#1 - Take Shorter Strides
It’s a common misconception that taking longer strides are going to help, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Apart from increasing your chances of overstepping the distance and landing on the front frame of the treadmill, you are literally wasting energy.
Taking longer strides require more effort, but it doesn’t increase your efficiency. Your workout will be shorter and you’ll have nothing to show for it.
You want to keep your strides as short as possible, preferably at 3 steps for every second. Your feet should hardly leave the surface before landing again. This way you’ll extend your workout time and lose more fat.
#2 - Pay Attention To Your Arms
It’s obvious that the majority of your focus is going to be on your lower body, but your arms also have a part to play. Don’t let them swing out of control, because they are going to drain your energy. Remember that the best way to lose weight in this situation is to comfortably extend your time on the treadmill.
While you are walking keep your arms at your sides, and when you start jogging put them at a 90 degree angle (elbow). They should remain parallel to each other, but don’t tighten them. Instead, keep them relaxed and loose.
#3 - Keep Pushing Yourself
There are three main elements to an effective, fat burning workout:
Now, if you keep all three of them at the same level your fat burning process is going to get stagnant, because your body is adapting. Naturally you want to increase all three of these elements, but don’t do it all at the same time.
Choose one of them and focus on pushing the levels for a week, while keeping the other two at a comfortable level. Change it up every week, but try not to get into a set routine. Once the body reaches a plateau the fat burning process is going to slow down, which is something you want to avoid.
Don’t be scared to mix up your routine, even if it means challenging yourself more than usual. The whole point is to burn fat fast and you’re not going to achieve this by remaining comfortable.
# 4 - Don’t Hold On To The Bars
The main point here is to burn fat quickly, but you’re not going to achieve this by holding on to the bars. Without an incline it’s relatively easy to avoid the bars, but once that incline comes into play people automatically seek support.
As tempted as you might be, keep your arms as suggested earlier. The moment your body finds support through your arms it will interfere with the effectiveness of the workout.
#5 - Start Using Intervals
Studies show that short and intense bursts are very effective when it comes to burning fat. Why? Because it puts your heart rate in perfect sync with your fat burning zone.
With intervals you’ll be utilizing this science so-to-speak. So how do intervals work on a treadmill?
Basically, you’ll start by walking for about 30 or 40 seconds. From there you go into an intense jog for another 40 seconds or so, then return to the walk.
With the intense exercises you really want to push the limits and use the less intense exercises to recover, but remain active.
When the exercise is over you shouldn’t have any energy left to do another exercise. It’s up to you how these intervals can go and it’s pretty easy to find effective combinations by searching the web or speaking to a personal trainer.
#6 - Shuffle It Up
This is one exercise that is going to burn fat quicker, but it will also keep people who don’t like running in one place entertained. As usual, you start with a typical slow jog for about 3 or 4 minutes.
Get into a nice rhythm and allow your body to warm up. When you feel you’re ready turn to the left or right side and shuffle.
It’s going to be tricky in the start, which is why your jogging pace has to be slower than usual. It’s also important that you don’t cross your feet, because you want to shuffle.
Try and shuffle for 3 minutes before turning back to the front. After three minutes switch to the other side. An overall good time for this exercise is about 30 minutes.
After you’ve become accustomed to your treadmill and you feel comfortable with pacing yourself, the walk/jog exercise can burn up to 300 calories per session. As the name suggests, you want to find a balance between walking quickly and jogging. It sounds simple enough, but actually maintaining this pace is something completely different. It’s not really an exercise for beginners, but after a month or so on a treadmill you’ll quickly understand how it works.
Some Additional Tips For Treadmill To Lose Weight
Even though your main aim is to lose weight, it doesn’t mean you can ignore some important fundamentals.
You want to avoid injuries, otherwise you won’t be losing any weight at all. You need to keep your body in a condition to continue your treadmill routines, so start by always standing straight. The tendency to hunch forward can lead to lower-back pain and even a loss of balance when least expect it. This also means keeping your eyes at the front. Don’t stare down at your feet.
You also want to invest in a good pair of trainers. More specifically, you want to choose functionality instead of style. In this case you want to buy trainers with enough padding at the ankle area, because support in your ankles is crucial for avoiding injuries.
Don’t over-extend yourself. Remember that your body needs time to heal after an intense workout. If you feel a growing pain in the same place every time you climb on the treadmill it’s a sign that something is wrong.