Interval Training on a Treadmill for Weight Loss
Some people think that doing interval training for weight loss on a treadmill isn’t effective, because you really can’t sprint like you can on flat ground. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t matter. One common myth about burning fat is that most people think that you have to be absolutely gasping for air during interval training or you won’t be burning any fat… but that’s just not true.
One of the best things about interval training workouts is that they let you get your workouts done much faster than doing slow and boring cardio sessions for an hour. Sometimes a slow cardio session is nice if there’s something cool on the treadmill TV, but for the most part no one really wants to be at the gym anyway.
Time benefits aside, there’s a lot of evidence that suggests that interval training is at least as effective as regular cardio for fat burning, if not more. I personally think that interval training routines are much more effective than regular cardio, mostly because they don’t take as long and they are funner to do than an hour of jogging.
How to do Effective Interval Training on a Treadmill for Weight Loss
When it comes to the different types of interval training routines, there really isn’t one certain routine that’s better than all the rest. This is a good thing though, because it’s nice to be able to mix up your workouts throughout the week, especially if you’ve been getting sick of your standard routine. In fact, it’s very beneficial to switch up your training routines every three to four weeks so that your muscles are always in a state of change.
Another big misconception about interval training is that you already have to be in excellent shape to do it. This leads back to the misunderstanding that interval training requires super-high-intensity, lung-burning sprints for long periods… not true. If you’re a beginner to interval training, then you can get started today, or during your next workout. For example, if your normal cardio routine is to walk at 3.3 mph on the treadmill at an incline, then going up to 4.0 mph for two minutes at a time is an interval. You can do that several times during your cardio session and you’ve done your first interval workout.
If you’ve been doing the same slow cardio routine for months, then doing a few interval sessions a few times a week will ignite your body’s fat burning. It’s one of the best ways to burn fat, not only because it burns more calories, but it actually increases your body’s metabolism for a few hours after you’re done working out. Regular cardio workouts don’t do that. What this really means is that there is more muscle breakdown and more muscle adaptation, which requires more energy to repair. You’ll end up stronger, leaner, and more muscular than you would from just regular cardio.
One thing that some people fixate on is the calorie-burn counter on the treadmill or elliptical at the gym. And, if you’re on the machine for less time, it will say that you’ve burned less calories. First of all, you need to understand that those calorie counters can be very inaccurate. Second, they can’t account for your body’s higher metabolism for the next few hours, which will keep burning way more calories than slow jogging will. When you work harder during your workout doing intervals, you break down the muscle fibers, your body has to heal, and in the process your body will burn more calories even after you’ve finished your workout.
So what you should do is, the next time you’re on the treadmill, just throw in some intervals to what you would normally do. To correctly start an interval workout, you should start with at least a 5 minute warm up to get your blood flowing. I kn0w, I know, these warmups can be annoying, but once you get used to them you’ll actually like doing them before your real workout starts. Also, you should do a 5 minute cool down when you’re done. This just lets your heart rate come down slowly from its elevated state instead of immediately stopping the activity that raised it in the first place.
My favorite part of interval workouts is definitely the end, but not just because I’m done with my workout for the day. When you get your heart rate up higher than normal, when you’re done with your workout you’ll have that satisfied feeling of heat throughout your body, and as you cool down it just feels great knowing that you’ve burned a bunch of calories and made your heart stronger.
If you’re really out of shape and haven’t even been going to the gym for awhile, you should definitely go and see a doctor before you start doing any sort of workout… interval or not.
Here are some sample interval trainings you can do on any treadmill or elliptical:
If you like to jog, then start out at a pace that you’re comfortable with. For the interval, move the speed up 2.0 mph and keep it there for 60 seconds. If that doesn’t get your heart rate up, then on the next interval, move up one mph higher. You can move the intervals up in intensity like this until you hit a spot that nearly takes you to your limit. This is the golden zone, and it’s what you should aim for every time your do your interval trainings.
You can even do intervals if you’re a treadmill walker. Start out at your regular pace and incline, and move up 2 or 3 mph for a 60 second interval. You can keep moving the intensity up by either increasing your speed or increasing the incline of the machine. This will get your heart rate up and you’ll know you’re alive.
When you’re just starting out, do two interval workouts a week for the first two weeks. Then go to three interval trainings for the next two weeks, and then you can go to four. You can eventually replace all of your cardio workouts with interval training, but you might want to keep doing one or two regular cardio sessions each week for the sake of variety.
