Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Treadmill Walking Strategies for Easy Fat Loss

By Torii Tompson

Losing weight is not as hard as it may seem - one really simple way to work off weight and burn that extra fat is by treadmill walking. The key to easy fat loss is to simply burn more calories than you take in through your food.

There seems to be an urban legend that leads many people to believe that by walking for a short distance a few times per week they can effectively lose weight. This is certainly not the case; to easily lose weight through walking you would have to walk for about 45 minutes almost every single day.

The important thing to remember is to keep up to your walking on a regular basis. You will find it extremely hard to control your weight if you do not exercise consistently. It is also important to bear in mind that walking around your local area may not be enough, especially if you live in a flat area.

However, if you walk on a treadmill, you can get a more intense workout by elevating the grade, also known as the incline. Not only will the higher elevation increase your heart rate, but the muscles in your body will work harder and cause you to burn more fat.

By regularly using a treadmill in your workout you will be able to both lose excess weight, and also make sure it doesn't return. Of course some people may get bored of using a treadmill rather than exercising outdoors, so here are some great ways to make your workout more exciting:

Walk the Pyramid: This is a neat little game which is sure to keep you mentally active as well as physically active. You can play this game over the course of your workout; basically when you are doing your treadmill walking, increase the speed by 0.1mph every minute. Do this for half of your workout session, and then for the second half of your session you decrease the speed by 0.1 mph.

1,2,3 Counting Steps: Instead of obessing over the time clock on the treadmill display, count your steps. You can count your steps for one minute then take a break and do it again for another minute. It will pass the time and as you became more fit you'll notice the number of steps you count will increase, which should motivate you.

Step and Walk: This is an excellent technique because it combines all the benefits of using a treadmill with other forms of exercise. Split your workout into equal segments, chunks of 5 or 10 minutes are good. Now, walk on your treadmill for the first segment. Then get off the machine and do another exercise for the next segment - such as using a stepper, lifting weights or perhaps using a rowing machine. Then return to your treadmill for the third segment and repeat throughout your workout.

Travel the World: There's a famous scene in the movie Forest Gump where Hanks puts on a pair of shoes and just walks. I find it's fun to map out my favorite routes around my neighborhood and then see how long it takes me to walk there on my treadmill. You can even put up photographs of local landmarks and take yourself on a virtual tour of your area!

The key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to keep doing your treadmill walking without getting bored. Don't be scared to invent your own games and techniques to keep yourself interested and help make your workout seem less like a chore and more like fun! - 15995

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