Benefits From Treadmill Exercise

Treadmill Basics

When you run, you primarily target your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calf muscles, but your abdominal muscles are also used to help maintain posture and to assist with the slight rotation of your spine. If you do not jog regularly, focus on building a solid foundation first. You should be able to run 30 minutes without stopping within eight weeks of training, according to the "Runner's World" website. Switch between walking and jogging intervals to build the foundation. With each workout, try to jog a little longer than the time before. Once you can run continuously for 30 minutes, you have the appropriate foundation to tackle speed intervals and add the incline. But be aware that running is a high-impact exercise that can lead to discomfort in your joints. If you have knee or ankle issues, running may worsen the problem. If this is the case, you may want to stick to brisk walking on the treadmill to minimize the impact.

Losing Weight

Running burns loads of calories, so if you are looking to shed a few of those pesky pounds, start adding the treadmill to your fitness routine. You burn about 100 calories per mile that you run, according to the “Runner’s World” website, but the benefits don’t end there. With one out of every three runs, try to rev up the intensity of your workout to a vigorous level. Not only will this help you burn more calories while running, but, compared with a moderate-effort run, it will keep the burn going longer after your workout.

Improving Speed

To run fast, you need to get going quickly. By improving your acceleration, you can reach your maximum speed faster than other runners, helping you get ahead of your competition in your next road race. By utilizing the incline feature on a treadmill, research published in the “Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research” in 2007 indicates that you can improve your overall sprint-start speed. The participants performed workouts with an incline on the treadmill two times a week for six weeks.

Health Benefits

As you pound away the miles on the treadmill, you are burning hundreds of calories, but you are also providing your body with several other health benefits. Just 30 minutes a day, three days a week, on the treadmill leads to improved sleep habits, better endurance, increased interest in sex, increased energy and stamina and reduced cholesterol levels, according to a report in "The Primary Care Companion to the The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry." Running strengthens your heart and lungs, but it also reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering your blood pressure and improving your cholesterol levels. To achieve all these benefits, you need to achieve a brisk walking pace on the treadmill. And don’t worry if you can’t do 30 minutes all at once; three 10-minute walks in a day have shown to have the same benefits as one continuous workout, according to the study in the "The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry."