7 Ways to Maximize Fat Loss of Your Treadmill Workouts

Easy-to-do Tips For Maximum Fat Loss of Your Treadmill Workouts

The reason most of us workout is to improve our health and/or our physical appearance. But in order to achieve this we need to live
a healthy lifestyle which includes (but not limited to) eating right, avoiding stress, getting enough rest and working out.

This article focuses on the working out part mentioned above. I chose to use treadmills here because it is my belief that they are the best and most popular exercise equipment as of the moment. So without further ado…here are some of the ways you can increase the fat burning effects of your treadmill workouts.


1) Workout in the morning on an empty stomach

Running on your treadmill in the morning before breakfast is highly beneficial to your fat loss goals. Since your stomach is still empty, your body will use your stored energy from the night before to fuel your workout thus, increasing the chance of burning calories from stored fat instead of calories from recently digested food.

2) Avoid holding the handrails

Don’t hold on the handrails during your treadmill workouts. Always run as if you’re running outside. This will force your body to exert more effort and result in burning more calories.

Before you follow this advice, be sure that you know what you’re body is capable of. Be certain that you will be able to keep up with the pace that you’ll choose to avoid any injuries from happening.

3) Understanding your heart rate

Your heart rate training zone is an essential element of your workout. Knowing your pulse rate during exercise indicates the level of intensity at which you workout. Exercising in each training zone has different effects on your body. What you want to know is which training zone is best for fat burning.

As a general rule, try to workout within 50%-90% of your max heart rate (MHR) to metabolize fat. The easiest way to calculate your MHR is by using the formula MHR = 220 - Your Age. For example, if you’re 20 years old then your MHR is 200. (200 = 220 - 20)

4) Use intense interval training

Since most treadmills nowadays come with heart rate monitors, I suggest you use your understanding of heart rates for high intensity interval training (HIIT). Using this training method is better than the conventional continuous running and here are the reasons why.

Both HIIT and continuous training burn calories during your exercise, but only interval training will boost your metabolism so you’ll keep burn calories long after you’re done (sometimes even up to 24 hrs. depending on the intensity of your workout).

Also, unlike continuous training, HIIT can increase your muscle mass which is crucial to burning body fats. The more muscle mass you have the faster your metabolism and the faster your metabolism the more calories you burn throughout the day.

To do this training method, start by walking for 5 minutes to warm up the muscles. Then run as fast as you can (around 85-90% of your MHP) for about 30-60 seconds, then lower the pace (around 50-60% of your MHP) for about 30-60 seconds to give your body ample time to recover, then just repeat the process.

Please note that the above workout is just an example and you may modify it to fit your level of fitness. And as always please consult your physician before starting with this exercise.

5) Use hand weights

This advice is best suited for advance runners. If you’re one of them, regular treadmill workouts may no longer provide you with the intensity you need to see and feel results. But by incorporating hand weights in your exercise, you could increase the intensity of your workouts while at the same time, burn more calories.

6) Workout Variety

If you keep on doing the same exercise week after week, your body will have no choice but to adapt to your workouts. And before you know it, that workout is no longer giving you the outcome you expect.

The best way to workout with good results is to keep your exercises fresh. Try to introduce your body to a different workout every now and then. For example, do HIIT this week, then next week do some continuous or steady pace trainings.

Also, you don’t have to limit yourself with treadmills. Try other equipment (stepper, stationary bike, etc) for even more variety. This way you prevent your body from adapting to a specific exercise and maximize the fat burning effects of your cardio workouts.

7) Incorporate some weight training

If you do your treadmill workouts in a health club, then why not do some weight training after? It is proven that lifting weights can dramatically speed up your metabolism which would result to more calories being burned throughout the day.

And if you’re not a member of any health clubs, you can still do some strength training exercises to increase your metabolism. Try doing some push ups, abs exercises, or use some dumbbells if you have one.

Well, there you have it. Those are the 7 ways you can maximize fat loss in your treadmill workouts. Hope you’ll utilize these tips in your next exercise.



About the Author: (resource box)

Aaron Co is an avid treadmill user for more than 6 years now. He is also the founder of TreadmillTips.com. A website that provides unbiased treadmill reviews and buying tips so shoppers can choose the fitness equipment that suits them best.