If you’re trying to lose weight but you run at the same speed and incline each time you hit the treadmill, you can run right into a rut–which is a) boring and b) lacking in calorie-torching power.
The great news: Running on the treadmill can go from a tedious trek to a quick fat-burning session. Use these strategies the next time you hit on the hamster wheel in the pursuit of pounds.
Give It Variety
Exercise’s role in weight loss may seem easy: To lose weight, you need to burn more calories, You can do that by upping your intensity or your duration.
The problem is that if you work too near your maximum heart rate, you might tire out too quickly. But if you run slow and steady you are going to have to go a long time to find results.
The happy medium is variety, says Hamilton. On some days, take your usual 20 to 30 minutes a little bit faster. On other days, go longer and slower–for about an hour or so.
Become A Master At Your Speed
Intervals–or short bursts of sprinting sprinkled during a workout–are one of the easiest ways to cut time off your workout (score!) and inches off your waist.
As a matter of fact, a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise discovered that ladies who ran hard for 2 minutes (then slowed down for three minutes) burned more calories the day after their workout than those who went the slow and steady route.
What’s more impressive: They dropped four percent of their body fat in the coming weeks to follow. The group who did low-intensity, steady workouts did not lose any.
Start with intervals in 1:2 or 1:1 ratios. That generally means upping your speed for 30 to 60 seconds, then dropping it for the same amount of time or double that. Select a speed that’s an effort you could hold for between two and five minutes.
You want to feel invigorated, not exhausted. You can build up to higher intensities, but how hard to go all depends on your experience–so first check out where you fall with this new treadmill workout you have to try.
Do Hills the Correct Way
Up your calorie burn–it sounds simple. Unfortunately, running or walking on a steep incline can be hard on your body.
Instead of placing the incline and forgetting it, pretend you are out. Learn how to go up a hill at the same effort you’re going at a flat road. That might mean dropping your speed a little, but”this is an opportunity to build strength in your hips and legs, working them a little harder.
You can also attempt intervals. Go up on the incline up between 2 and 4 percent for one or two minutes, let your speed fall 0.1 or 0.2, then bring your incline back down to 0 for that same amount of time and repeat. Once you’ve mastered maintaining your effort on a hill, work to maintain speed.
Some Days, Just Keep Going
Now we have all had those incredible days where 5 miles feels like two. Just doing a longer exercise will burn about 50 percent more calories. Instead of running for 30 minutes, going for 45 increases your duration and calorie burn by 50 percent.
While this isn’t a excellent everyday technique (hello, boredom and plateaus), switching up your routine with some longer runs is a great way to up your calorie burn without a ton of effort.
Don’t Go Away From Other Workouts
The best way to shed weight isn’t doing the same routine over and over again. Finding the perfect mixture of resistance training, intervals, endurance, and stretching can help you fulfill your goal faster.