Aerobic training or cardiovascular exercise can help you lose fat. It can amp up your heart rate so you can start burning calories. But did you know that one of the best and most efficient ways to lose fat is by combining cardio routines and resistance training?
And even if you have only a treadmill at home, you may still be able to use this technique.
So let’s see some intense treadmill workouts that can help you lose fat and weight. We’re not only going to do intense cardio, we have wrapped up some routines that can help you gain muscles at the same time.
Our favorite treadmill workouts for optimum calorie burn
Ready your loins and gear up for some calorie-busting workout. Here are our tried and tested weight loss treadmill routines.
HIIT training
First off is an intense cardio exercise.
A high-intensity interval training is a tried and tested method that can help you lose fat at half the time.
The idea is to do sudden bursts of explosive movements followed by shorter rest periods. The bursts of aerobic activity amp up your fat-burning zone.
Here is a simple HIIT routine.
- Set the treadmill to a flat incline first. This will serve as the warm-up, so start walking at 2 to 5 mph for 5-7 minutes.
- Increased treadmill speed to the maximum that you can and run for 30 seconds.
- Lower speed to brisk walking and walk vigorously for 60 seconds
- Repeat this technique 5 to 10 times
- It’s time to cool down. Walk at 2 to 5 mph for 5 minutes
Incline workout
Using the treadmill’s incline function can amp up the calorie-busting capacity of the body. The steep incline can serve as resistance for the lower boy.
This can help you build muscle in these areas. And of course, if you are developing muscles, your metabolism speeds up. Hence you lose more fat as compared to just doing cardiovascular exercises.
Here’s a quick way to add hills to your usual cardio exercise
- Start with the treadmill incline setting to flat. This will serve as the warmup. Walk for 2 to 5 mph.
- Take it up a notch by increasing the incline to 1 percent. Jog lightly for 1 minute at 4 to 6 mph
- Increase the incline to 1 percent every minute. Repeat this step until you reach 8 to 9 percent incline.
- Afterward, decrease the incline to 1 percent each minute until you’re at 0.
- Time to cool down by walking 2 mph for 5 minutes.
- You can amp up the intensity of this routine by more incline as the treadmill allows or by increasing the time frame for each run.
HIIT variation
This is similar to high-intensity interval training but with a few tweaks. This is an option if you’re getting bored with the usual high bursts of movement.
- Let’s warm up first. Set the treadmill to a flat incline and walk at 3 km/h
- Increase the speed to 14-16 km/h—and run for 30-45 seconds
- Decrease treadmill speed to a walking pace of 4-6 km/h, do this for 30-45 seconds.
- Amp up the speed again, but only to 9-11 km. Then jog for another 30-45 seconds
- Repeat the entire process 5 to 10 times
- For the cool down, lower the treadmill speed to 3 km/h and walk lightly for 5 minutes.
The traditional 5k run
For those looking for an old-fashioned way of amping up their aerobic activity, there is no better way than to finish a 5k run on the treadmill
- Start with a warm-up by setting the speed to a flat incline of 3 km/h to warm up
- Increase the speed to 5 km/h and start to run lightly until you reach 5 km
- Cool down by lowering the speed to 3 km/h and walking lightly for 5 to 10 minutes
Keep it interesting
The last technique to lose fat more efficiently with your treadmill is by switching the said routines above.
If you’re doing the same thing every single day, every single week, your body is bound to reach a plateau level. And once you hit that, there will be no loss of fat or weight.
Now one way to prevent that from happening is by adding variety to your routine.
Say, do HIIT for a week, then do a different treadmill routine by next week by doing uphill and downhill exercises.
And each time, try to increase either the intensity, speed, or time frame of the entire exercise.
This is a guaranteed way to stop your body from hitting a plateau.
Maximize your Treadmill’s Capacity
Treadmills are not just for cardio exercises.
With the right features and the right routines, you can also use these to tone your lower body. It’s also important to keep the fun and spice so that you will not get bored.
Apart from hitting the plateau, boredom is one of the other challenges of working out with just a treadmill at home. These exercises can help you lose a lot of calories and fat.
Now nothing can stop you from reaching your fitness goals.
