10 Beneficial Facts About Treadmill Workouts

Endurance is very i training such as a marathon runner. The fact is almost every type of athletes can use a treadmill to improve their endurance. In sports, the more endurance you have, the more chance of you outlasting your opponent.

Take martial art for an example, a Muay Thai boxer can benefit from excellent endurance training as the sport involve continuous body movement that can be very exhausting, the last thing you want to do is worry about is if your cardiovascular endurance will hold up for the entire fight (without getting knock out). This applies for any other sport.

A treadmill can help athletes to achieve better psychological condition because it builds up endurance pushing them beyond comfort zone which makes all the difference when competing.

An athlete who runs 30 minutes on a treadmill will more likely to have better endurance than the athlete who didn’t run on a treadmill. You can also set goals to increase your endurance by 1 minute each week, this can easily be achieve. Find out more on how to calculate calories burn base on age, weight, height, duration here.

Use this free tool to Calculate Calories Burn Running on a Treadmill.

10 Beneficial Facts About Treadmill Workouts

1) On the treadmill you should set incline from 1% to 3% so you stimulate the body movement as it would be in overground running.

2) When you run on treadmill, don’t lean forward because the belt pulls your feet back. The proper position is with the body upright.

3) Warm up and Cool down are very important. Save at least 4-5 minutes at the beginning and minimum 5 minute at the end of the workout for slow running (4-5 mph).

4) On the treadmill the body is stationary relative to the air around you and no air flows past your body. This is why you feel hotter, and you will sweat more compared to outside running. So you need to hydrate more and make sure you have adequate air flow coming towards you.

5) Treadmill monitor performance easier because of the advance software program install on their consoles.

6) As a beginner at treadmill running, it’s normal to feel a little decentralized, especially when you get off the treadmill. While your legs tell the brain that you move forward, at the same time the eyes tell the brain that you’re stationary. But in a few minutes this sensation disappears.

7) It’s easier follow any training program on the treadmill because you set your goals and the treadmill helps you control the workout intensity.

8) Don’t use the handrails while you run. Use the wireless chest straps to monitor your heart rate and keep the arms moving naturally.

9) Running on the treadmill is easier than running outdoors.

10) Running on treadmill is usually easier on the joints than running on pavement as they are designed to absorb shock.

 *Use this treadmill calorie calculator to calculates how many calories you burn while walking or running on a treadmill.

Treadmill Workouts – Muscles developed when running on a treadmill

The heart
The heart is the main muscle when you work on a treadmill. Treadmill provides great cadiovascular exercise that raises the heart rate and strengthen and stamina of the heart.

Quadriceps
Exercising on the treadmill works out the quadriceps muscles, located on the front of the thighs.

Calves
The calf muscles are located between the ankle and the knee. While walking and running these muscles act as stabilizers for the body. This is why you must stretch them on
a regular basis.

Hamstrings
The hamstrings are located on the back of the thighs. They are effectively toned through treadmill workouts. Hamstrongs can be pulled easily so you should strecth adequately before starting your workout.

Glutes
The proper name for this 3-part group is the gluteal muscles. The gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus are located in the buttlocks and they are worked intensively durng tradmill exercises.

Incline Mode Facts:

The risk of running injuries is decreased because you can do an efficient cardio workout at lower speed.

For the incline workouts you need to set the incline at minimum 10%.

The biceps control the elbow movements. This is why running or walking is much more efficient when the elbows are bent.

You burn fat when you use incline because you reach the fat burning zone faster and you can stay in the zone for a longer time.

Training with incline mode increases muscular strength.

• use the incline mode to challenge the cardiovas system at lower speed.
• In incline mode the back muscles are used to keep the body upright.
• The uphill position helps to build long and lean calf muscles. It’s also a good position to stretch the calves.
• Incline helps to build strength in your thighs (or quads) and the buttlocks.
• Incline minimize the heel strike impack.

Decline mode facts:

In decline you workout the muscles in the calf, quadriceps, and hamstring muscle groups.

In decline mode your speed should not be higher that your jogging pace.

For an efficient workout you should alternate decline intervals with flat and inlcine intervals.

Exercising with decline sustains leg muscles growth because of the eccentric muscular contraction.

A decline interval must not be more than 2 minutes long.

• Running with decline requires less energy
• Compared with incline mode, decline increase the stress on the “anti gravity” muscles of your hips, legs and ankles.
• Running with decline is extremely hard on knee joints.
• Decline helps to increase your leg turnover, which improves your acceleration and speed on flat surfaces.

Note: decline mode is only available in few treadmills

5 Tips to Make Treadmill Workout More Exciting

 

1 ENTER WITH A PLAN

Increase blood flow will ensure that nutrients for healing are flowing to the areas that need repair.

2. ENTERTAINMENT LINE UP

Have your entertainment at the ready! Whether music, TV shows, workout videos or podcasts (like the 9-5 Fitness podcast) it’s a good idea to have something ready for consuming when you hop up onto that tread deck. Take advantage of that device holder!

3. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR PERSONAL AID STATION

One of the biggest benefits of running on a treadmill is you can have your hydration and snacks within arms reach at all times.

4. QUALITY WORKOUTS

Save treadmill sessions for those quality workouts where your performance matters. If you’re doing a time-trial, time-based workout, or speed intervals -this is where the treadmill shines!

5. WORK ON YOUR RUNNING FORM

It’s so important when running on a treadmill to position yourself correctly to set yourself up for success, and to maintain the best running form.

 

Reference:
runreviews.com
http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/multisport-zone/multisport-lab/articles/add-the-treadmill-to-your-training-toolbox-110110.aspx
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15465/1/Benefits-of-Treadmill-Training.html