Do you sometimes feel that your treadmill workouts are just as useless as an endless trip that leads to nowhere? If this is your state of mind, the very first thing that will be affected is your motivation.
Once you lose that all important urge, your goal of reducing your weight will be on a downward turn. You need to arrest the situation right now so that you won’t lose your motivation.
There’s an experiment which required runners to use the treadmill immediately after their outdoor runs. They were asked to run at the same speed outdoors. The runners adjusted the speed of the treadmill much slower.
This helped the researchers realize that the runners have a certain perception of speed on the treadmill as against their speed while running outdoors. In other words, the slower speed of the treadmill exerts much more pressure.
You probably felt the same way, but you don’t have to put up with it. There are fat-burning exercises using the treadmill that are not boring, but produce the results that you want.
These exercises will not even require you to spend more than 20 minutes on the treadmill. You can even perform these exercises for 10, 20 or even 30 minutes depending on your stamina.
Here are six exercises you can perform at the XSport Fitness or Koko Fit Club that are effective in burning your fat.
1. Shuffle sideways
In your treadmill exercise, include side shuffles into your intervals by walking or running on an incline for one minute. And then you can lower the platform and side shuffle for 30 seconds. Repeat the routine several times.
“This works great for tightening up the outer and inner thighs,” says Neal Pire, exercise physiologist at HNH Fitness, a medical facility in Oradell, New Jersey.
If you are quite nimble, you can also try doing the grapevine. You can do this by alternating crossing one foot and then the other in front of you in a crisscross side shuffle. “Hold on with one hand if you’re unsure of your balance,” says Pire.
2. Lunge uphill
You can improve your treadmill skills and avoid getting bored by including other varieties of exercises. An example is the Lunge which targets the glutes more than plain flat walking.
Incline the treadmill starting at 5 to 6 per cent. If you need to, use your hands to balance your movements. Lunge strongly with each step. Remember that form is more vital than speed in this type of exercise.
Set the treadmill slow at 2 miles per hour and lunge for one minute. Follow it up by walking for 30 seconds and do it for 8 to 10 reps.
3. 10-10-10 Challenge
A routine called 10-10-10 is good for motivating yourself on the treadmill. This method requires you to warm up for 10 minutes with an intensity level of 5 in a scale of 1 to 10.
Then do another 10 minutes of more challenging workout on a 6 to 7 intensity level. And finally another 10 minutes of slowing down with an intensity level back to 5. If you only have a short time available, you can break these set into shorter intervals.
4. TV Influenced Workout
If you are fond of watching the TV while doing your treadmill workout, you can make your exercise more challenging.
This is how you do it. When the actual show is going on, go at a comfortable pace. Once the commercials break in, increase the intensity level. Admittedly, you will get really tired if you’re watching an hour long show.
You can cut the time down to 30 minutes. There should be at least 10 minutes allotted for commercials in a 30-minute TV show, so you’ll have enough tough exercises to perform.
5. Go with the Beat
Choose some catchy tunes that make you fired up and use them in your treadmill workouts. These should be a mix of slow (but not too slow) and fast paced tunes. When you’re hearing slow paced music, set your treadmill on an incline. If the music is fast, set the treadmill on a flatter level.
The point is: “Let the beat of the music determine your intensity and the length of your intervals,” says a well-known physical fitness trainer.
If you want more treadmill workouts for burning fat, you can access the guided workouts that are available online. There are several apps such as Motion Traxx which offers treadmill exercises that will keep you motivated and will also help you work harder, even if you are doing it all alone. The first lesson of this app is free.
Two other apps that you might be worth your interest are the BeatBurn Treadmill/Outdoor, and the Virtual Active. The last one provides scenic running trails around the world while you are perspiring on the treadmill.