Interval Training on the Treadmill

Are you on a mission to lose weight? If this is so and you are serious about it your workouts probably involve some sort of treadmill exercises. The treadmill can be a great machine to aid in your weight loss goals. Treadmill training is popular because of the fact that it is relatively easy to buy and install a treadmill at your home. Let's say you get this brand new treadmill and are ready to begin your workout routines. You do a conventional treadmill workout for a couple weeks and are becoming bored with it. It now may be the time to start doing some interval training on treadmill type exercises.

Just by alternating the settings on your treadmill can give your muscles the variance and workout they need. In order for workouts to reach maximum effectiveness you must expose your muscles to different intensity levels within the same workout. Interval training on the treadmill accomplishes this goal. Try starting at your slow to moderate pace in your warm up and then increase the speed of the treadmill as you advance in the stages of the workout. By doing this you are performing a very basic interval type workout.

The key to any interval training on a treadmill is to vary not only the actual speed of the treadmill, but the incline and decline functions as well. Essentially your goal is to incorporate periods of both high intensity and low intensity within the same workout routine. With that said, there is no real standard interval treadmill training. Your workouts should be geared towards whatever you feel comfortable doing. We all work out with different goals in mind and those play the biggest role in determining how your specific interval training should be mapped out.

You will see that as you progress you will actually see yourself looking forward to your next treadmill routine with great anticipation. Why is this? This is because interval training on a treadmill is always changing and it is a natural human condition to be drawn to anything that is diverse and constantly changing rather than to be drawn to something that is very static and outright boring. After you see the results these workouts have as far as calories burned you will find yourself looking to get back on that treadmill as well.

Since any workout regimen is going to include a heavy dose of cardio type exercises you might as well make those parts of your workout as successful as possible. One of the great ways you can accomplish this is by interval training on treadmill type exercises. This type of training can be done at any time that you normally do your cardio workout, if you workout for 20 minutes, you could begin at a low intensity for 3 to 5 minutes then increase to at higher intensity for 3 to 5 minutes following this cycle for the entire workout. The time shown can be easily modified depending on your fitness level by decreasing or increasing the time for either low or high intensity.

What is good about this type of interval training, it can be used by the beginner or athlete who wants to increase their cardiovascular endurance or burn calories. As with all cardio exercises stay within your capabilities and do not exhaust yourself, stay within your target heart rate range to get the best benefit from interval training on the treadmill.

Find out more information to increase your health and fitness levels at;
http://www.fitnessexercisenow.com/

Original article

Road Running or Treadmill Running?

Most gyms are lined with treadmills yet, there is usually a road outside the gym, couldn't you just run there? It's free and at least you feel like you are moving.

So why are there so many treadmills in these gyms? And why are they always full?

Surely it's a question of taste? After all, it's the same thing isn't it?

Often you will hear how road running is a heavy impact activity which can cause damage to your knees. Treadmills are cushioned to absorb the impact and is therefore safer. You don't have to deal with the weather. The surface is even and you don't have to be mindful of your safety from muggers or inattentive drivers.

Yes, treadmills are the way to go, aren't they?

Let's look deeper.

What happens when we run?

Firstly we extend one leg out in front using our quadriceps (thigh muscles). Before bringing the foot down and make contact with the ground. At this point the posterior (rear) muscles take over pulling and flexing the leg to propel us forward as the other leg extends out to repeat the sequence.

So very simplistically, we are constantly performing leg extensions followed by leg curls, working the muscles on both sides of the leg.

However, on a treadmill this is not the case. We still extend our leg, but upon connecting with the belt of the treadmill, it takes over and rather than propelling our bodies forward with the posterior leg muscles, the belt does this for us by pulling the foot backwards. Essentially, as far as our leg muscles are concerned, we are doing half the work and are only using the anterior (front) muscles to do it.

This means, firstly, less calories burned due to fewer recruited muscles and secondly, the imbalance is likely to cause stress, particularly to the knee.

This goes somewhat against the argument that treadmill running is safer than outdoor running as far as your joints are concerned.

Further, according to a study by the University of East London (1998) the hip flexion angle increases significantly when running on a treadmill. Hip and knee flexion angles have to increase to bring the hip through the stride causing a tightening and fatigue of the hip flexor muscles. As a result technique alters automatically to counter this weakness causing poor form. This can also cause knee pain, compounding the issue of the imbalanced muscle development.

Researchers have also found that when the foot lands on the belt of a treadmill, the foot, ankle and shin, become temporarily part of the belt and move backwards from the centre mass of the body at the same speed. This means the shinbone is not as upright as with normal running and is forced into a greater range of motion, which in turn can lead to stress of both the bone and its supporting muscles (causing a tight feeling often referred to as shin splints).

All this is not to say running on a treadmill should be avoided entirely. As a means of warming up or an occasional CV workout it is as good as any.

Also, during the winter months in particular, the risks involved with running outside may well outweigh the benefits, in which case using a treadmill would be a good alternative to avoid losing progression.

If your concern is burning calories and you would rather stay indoors, I'd suggest you would get more benefit from circuit style training where a good balance of muscle groups can be catered for. You can get your heart rate up just the same and ensure opposing muscle groups are equally worked, which will not only burn more calories in the long run, but will help prevent injury and make you functionally fitter.

In short, treadmills have their place, but the next time you go to get on one, stop and have a look outside. There's a whole world out there to explore, places you miss in your every day commutes. Why not get some fresh air in your lungs, some vitamin D and all the additional benefits associated with road running? At least you'll feel like you're getting somewhere.

Dynamic Core Solutions is an International Coaching Health & Fitness Resource that can provide you with incredible, life & Physique Transformation result and the information on how to achieve them.

If you are interested in finding out more on fat burning, road running or general fitness information, head over to dynamiccoresolutions.com for more information and to find a more detailed version of this article.

Original article