Walking on a Treadmill is good way to lose weight

November 21st, 2005

Walking may not be the most athletic sport, but it can help an overweight person lose weight and increase their overall health.

Anyone that is overweight should always consult a doctor when starting a new exercise program, as you may have high blood pressure and other hidden ailments that may require a different goal when starting an exercise program.

If you work all day or have children it can be hard to get to the gym to work out, not to mention the extra expense involved with baby sitters.  If you have room to invest in a treadmill you can exercise when you wake up or late at night.  There are units that are available that are just a good as the gym models. 

The Epic T60 treadmill sold at Costco for $899-$999 is so much like the gyms models that it is a pleasure to use.  If you purchase a treadmill for home use and are serious about using it often, the less expensive models should be passed up.  You should be able to get a nice treadmill in the $900 - $1,500 price range.  There are also remanufactured treadmills that can also save you money.  The problem with the less expensive treadmills, are they have a narrow width and a short belt and there is not an automatic incline/decline.  You might feel like you are wobbling every step you take.  If you don’t like the machine, you will stop using it and you will not keep up on the exercise machine. 

I think the gym can be over packed at times; you sometimes have to wait your turn for the treadmill, as they are usually the most popular aerobic machines there.  You might feel self conscious going because you are overweight.  Gyms are better for the ones that want to socialize.  It is usually more fun if you have an exercise friend at one of these places.  That way it isn’t as terrible.  If you don’t have a friend to drag with you can always hire the trainer at the gym, they’ll keep you moving.  The benefit to the gyms is the vast array of weights and weight training machines that are available. If you are not into the weights then you should consider the home treadmill.

The other thing that makes the treadmill experience more fun is to set up a TV in front of it so that you can watch a TV show or a movie when you work out.  It will make the time pass more quickly and pretty soon you don’t even realize that you have completed 20 minutes.  If you have time to sit down and watch a movie, then why not walk on the treadmill instead for the whole movie.  If you don’t have room, have you ever noticed that the sofa is about the same size as a treadmill?  I guess visitors won’t have a place to sit you might have to visit at the kitchen table instead, but it could work.

Treadmills offer a challenge that you can control, you can choose to increase the incline, go faster or slower.  You can try to push yourself and you can measure results as you go.  Going on a nature walk can be enjoyable and beneficial still, and people get healthy doing this too, but with the busy schedules it is more likely that you will have the more time available during the dark hours of night than when the sun is shinning.

The faster you go on a treadmill the more calories are burned.  That makes it very frustrating of the overweight person because if they are not in good shape they will only burn 100 calories in a 20 minute session.  To burn just one pound you have to burn off 3,500 calories.  So that would be like exercising over 11 ½ hours just to burn off one pound.  The goal should be for the overweight person to just start a little bit at 10 minutes walking.  Build up to 15, then 20 minutes and keep adding 5 minutes at time.  Building up the length of time that you can do will allow for the increase in speed afterwards.  

If you start your treadmill at to fast too soon, you are putting yourself at risk for injuries.  If you injure yourself you won’t be exercising, so it is better to take it at a pace that is comfortable to start with and work up from there.

Scheduling your workout time is a good way to make sure that you spend the time exercising.  It seems like there is always something more important that exercising.  Your health should be put in as a priority because ill health will make you not be able to accomplish your everyday tasks in the future.  Even if you didn't lose weight, you still will gain on health benefits doing an aerobic exercise.

By Nicole Wilson
Best Syndication Staff Writer

Treadmills available at Amazon

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