Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Treadmill Walking Strategies for Easy Fat Loss

By Torii Tompson

Treadmill walking is an extremely easy way to help lose weight and stay healthy. A lot of people think losing weight is complicated, but this really isn't the case. Easy fat loss is achieved when your body burns more calories through exercise than the number of calories you intake from food.

Some people mistakenly believe that if they walk three times a week for a short period of time, they can lose weight easily. This is a myth. Effective weight loss through walking requires you to walk at least 45 minutes or more five to six days a week.

The important thing to remember is to keep up to your walking on a regular basis. You will find it extremely hard to control your weight if you do not exercise consistently. It is also important to bear in mind that walking around your local area may not be enough, especially if you live in a flat area.

By adjusting the incline, or slope of a treadmill, you can give yourself a much more intense exercise session. The increased incline will not only increase your heart rate, but will also make your muscles work a lot harder, and therefore burn more fat.

If you engage in treadmill walking on a consistent basis, you'll not only be able to lose the pounds, but they will stay off for good. If a treadmill walking workout tends to bore you, here are some ideas to make it more interesting:

Walk the Pyramid: This game challenges you both physically and mentally for a total of 30 minutes. Whenever you're walking on your treadmill, increase the speed by .1 mph every 15 minutes. Do this for half of your workout and then decrease the speed .1 mph for the other 15 minutes.

1,2,3 Counting Steps: Let's face it, working out on a treadmill can be boring. Break the monotony by counting your steps. Take a minute and count your steps and then take a minute break. Continue doing this throughout the duration of your workout. It will keep your workout interesting and over time you'll see notice the number of steps you take increase, which will be a reward for you.

Step and Walk: Anyone who is used to stair stepper or knows what a great workout. It provides. You can make your treadmill walk less boring by alternating you're walking with other forms of exercise. All you have to do is walk for five or 10 minutes under treadmill, then get off the machine and use a stepper for the same amount of time. If you don't have a stepper, you can do something else like jumping jacks, lifting weights with dumbbells, etc.

Travel the World: Do you remember in the movie Forrest Gump, when Tom Hanks puts on a pair of tennis shoes and just walks for what seems like forever? Why not map out your favorite destination, and then see how long it takes you to walk there and your treadmill?

Remember, exercise is a very personal thing, so just be creative and come up with your own little games and techniques to make sure that your workout is always fun! - 16004

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