There are great advantages in owning a treadmill at home. Aside from the convenience that it’s easily accessible to you, there’s no need for you to worry about the elements outdoors – like the weather, the people, the traffic, the stray dogs, and catcallers. These elements can be off-putting when you’re trying your best to stay on track on your track. A treadmill at home also means you don’t really have any excuses to slack off.
There’s no wrong way in using a treadmill. You simply set it, and walk, jog and run on it. However, there are ways to maximize its use and make it work for your advantage.
Make A Plan
Making a plan is the most basic thing you need to do in using a treadmill. What is it for? Are you training for a marathon? A competition? Are you using it for endurance? Are you using it to lose fat? Invest a little time in conducting your own research on what to do.
Warm Up Before You Go
Warming up your muscles is important. This prevents muscle soreness and fatigue. Failing to do so will only set you back for a few days. Your warm up should start out as walking. Walk on your treadmill for 5 to 10 minutes. Warming up will help increase blood circulation in your muscles and help increase heart rate. Afterwards, start stretching those muscles out.
Work On Your Posture
There are many treadmill-related injuries yearly because some people don’t work on their form. A good posture makes a difference in running. Getting it right means your performance is better, in turn, prevent you from any injury. Look straight and put your shoulders back. Never look down on your feet. Your entire body should be loose to allow your arms to swing back and forth normally. Try your best not to lean forward or you might trip.
Increase Your Heart Rate
Yes, speeding up increases heart rate, but what if you can only stay at a particular pace? Using the incline option of your treadmill can get your heart rate up and working harder. This adds a little variety in your work out. You can adjust the setting of your inclined treadmill from jogging to walking, or vice versa. An inclined option puts more work on your legs as well. In this setting, you’ll start to feel like your legs are burning.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Do you know you can apply HIIT in your treadmill? This is a popular way of getting the results you want in a shorter period of time. All you have to do is to add intervals. Set your treadmill to go as fast as you can for a period of time, and return the setting back to normal afterwards, then repeat.
For example, you can jog for 60 seconds and sprint for 30 seconds, then back at jogging for 60 seconds again. The concept of it is going at your normal pace, and pushing it more, then get back to your normal pace once more. HIIT is proven to help burn more calories than your regular exercise.
Add Some Variety
Treadmill does not restrict you to running alone. It can be used in a variety of exercises. In fact, you can see videos of this all over the internet. You can mix it up by adding some lunges, walking sideways, and even dancing. If you’re the type that easily gets bored, adding some variety will keep your workout interesting.
There are many other ways to use treadmill for your advantage. If you have a treadmill at home, you can’t have any excuse in skipping a workout session.