Walking For Weight Loss – Are Treadmills The Answer?
Apr 12th, 2011 | By Todd Bowman | Category: Lose Weight
If you’re looking at walking for weight loss by using a treadmill, you are in luck. Treadmills are great equipment for your fitness program. They are really great especially because you can vary their resistance. On the other hand they can be a real pain if they don’t function properly.
Should you be setting up an in-home fitness room in your house, or should you buy a treadmill instead? Depends what your goals are. If you want to be a marathon runner or are just looking at the idea of walking for weight loss, then a treadmill might be the way to go. Personally I like to build muscle more than losing weight. But with a treadmill, you can do your workout even if the weather conditions outside are bad. No driving to the gym.
Most of them are adjustable within the angle of the plane (track) so you’ll be able to vary the resistance like speed and incline. They also enable you to work at distinctive speeds, so you might walk fast or slow and even run.
Some treadmills have computer generated physical exercise regimens the selection of which will take a good deal of the boredom out of cardio exercises. Walking for weight loss on a treadmill can get boring unless you mix it up.
Treadmills – The Good
An excellent deal on a treadmill might be from an authorized remanufacturer/reseller. These providers refurbish old equipment with new parts that are prone to wear. You get factory approved warranty and it’s like you’re buying a new machine.
Pre owned equipment that you may need to stay clear of are machines from a commercial fitness club or gym.
They’re subjected to prolonged use and they get abused a lot. A good deal would be to buy them from people who “tried” to commit to losing weight for their new year’s resolution.
With a treadmill, your exercise sessions are limited to walking, jogging and running. Walking for weight loss on a treadmill is not my idea of fun. I like them as an add on to my existing workouts.
Treadmill workouts can really be intense if the plane settings are high and the speeds are more rapid.
Being in the “zone” means that you’re burning fat at its maximum. To maximize your efforts, your heart rate should be at 85% of maximum heart rate.
To calculate for your heart rate, subtract 220 from your age. This means that a man at the age of 40 will have a max rate of 280 and hi zone is at 153 bpm. At that rate he might be in a fat-burning mode for about 90% of his workout period on the treadmill.
If you’re thinking about putting up a home gym, it’s better to buy a folding machine instead of non folding treadmills because they take up a lot of space. You should also consider how to service the treadmill in the even that it breaks or wears out.
It shouldn’t pose a challenge if you’re good with tools and machines.
The key region that has to be serviced is the plane or track. This portion of the machine is exposed to the greatest wear and it has to be taken care of if you want your treadmill to last a long time.
The track is not hard to replace. However, the rollers should be inspected for alignment at least once a month (if you’re running on it 3 times per week).
Treadmills – The Bad
Your choice of treadmill should depend on how often you’ll use it. Choosing a treadmill that has a track that’s not right for you can be a detriment to your workout.
Make sure you think about the features of the treadmill before buying it. Bells and whistles don’t really add much to your workout. For some machines, especially those bare-boned, you can just upgrade them to have more features.
Remember, if you plan on working out a lot (or you just think that walking for weight loss is something you enjoy), then you should invest in getting a machine that’s a commercial grade. You get what you paid for with treadmills.
If you’re not handy with tools, it can become more expensive for to service and repair your machine. Check into a service contract together with your dealer.
Treadmills – The Ugly
Read the manual first before getting on the track.
I had a friend who bought a treadmill for his wife. She tried out the treadmill without reading the manual. She ended up with a sprain in both wrists and legs. But don’t let her mistake influence your decision about walking for weight loss using a treadmill. If that’s your goal, then a treadmill can be just the way to go!
Right now, the treadmill is just waiting for a new customer to take him home. I hope you learned more about walking for weight loss in this article.
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