How to Use Treadmill Properly

Most of the time people (those who regularly went to the gym) treat a treadmill as 10 to 15 minutes workout machine only. Sometimes, they dare to declare that treadmill is just another piece of useless cardio machine that only been over hyped by the advertisers or its manufacturer. The truth is treadmill is one of the most effective cardio machine if one uses it properly. Here some of the best treadmill usage tips for those who think that this machine is just a crap.

Preparation

First and foremost is your readiness to use a treadmill. Prepare yourself with proper cloth and shoes. Wear t-shirt and track pants/shorts. Also, use a decent pair of shoes with good grip to prevent you from slipping from the sole. Word of caution, don’t start running barefooting on a treadmill. Other than that is towel. It’s a good idea to have a towel to wipe your sweat off especially if you’re using a gym treadmill. In short, make sure you ready yourself for a sweaty experience.

Understand the treadmill

In case you’re a first timer treadmills user, go ask someone in the gym to guide you in using those machines. Find and remember which button you should use to increase or decrease the speed and also the inclination. In addition, familiarize yourself on which indicator that shows you the heart rate, calorie burned, time, speed, inclination and also the emergency stop button.

The pre-set programs

Most treadmill now days had a pre-set training programs install on them. This program is designed to help you improve your training by following a set of controlled regime. Different treadmill may have different set of programs such as controlled inclined, interval training, etc. which help you burn more calories. Some of the common pre-set programs are:

• Interval training: Allow you to set your sprint and jogging speed by pressing a button on the controller.

• Random Hill:Randomize your treadmill incline and decline speed.

• Burned Fat Zone: Designed to ensure your heart rate will be in between 80-85% from your max heart rate.

• Cardio training: Constantly changing the speed to make sure your heart rate is in the range of 50-85% from your max heart rate.

• Fitness Test: This should be done every three month. It helps to keep track your heart rate.  

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Warming Up

Everything should start from here. Most of the time, people usually just start running at high speed on the treadmill without proper warm up. This can give your body a sudden shock of stress which then can lead to muscle cramps and other problems. You should start your training by running at a slow pace (5-6km/hr) to loosen up your body muscle and give it some time to adapt with the training. Keep this pace for 3-5 minutes before you start doing some heavy running.

Beginner mistake

Well, for beginner it’s advised to hold the bars on the treadmill but it is a bad idea if you keep holding it during incline walks/runs. This may lead you to overdoing your training and require you to decrease the speed or incline. Other than that, holding bars may prevent you to find your most ideal running posture in addition to less calorie burned.

Proper running

Land your foot properly on the sole! Some research indicate that you may hurt yourself if you not landing properly i.e. if you’re landing on your toes, heavy pressure are pressed on your calves and also, you may exposed to shin pain. To avoid this, always pointed you toes on straight position. Well, it maybe impossible for first timer but if you train regularly it will come to you naturally.

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