The treadmill is perhaps the most popular exercise machine today because of the simplicity of workouts that people aspiring to lose weight can do on it. The amount of calories burned on treadmill workouts depend on factors including weight, stride length and exercise intensity.

Treadmill Fitness – Factors Affecting Calorie Loss

Aside from weight, which is directly proportional to the calories burned per kilometer or mile, the length of stride also influences calorie loss. Longer strides on the treadmill burn less calories, while shorter strides do the opposite because they entail stepping more times per kilometer. Treadmill fitness also depends on the intensity of exercise, because the harder the lungs and heart work, the greater the calories burned. Shedding off calories can be expedited by walking or running uphill, or using treadmills with an incline feature. Speeding up can also lead to greater loss of calories. Motorized treadmills are effective in inducing treadmill fitness, but they tend to reduce the amount of calories burned per kilometer because the moving belt does some of the work instead of the person doing the exercise.

Treadmill Training – Types of Workout

Beginners can start by walking on their own pace on the treadmill and gradually increasing the intensity of their workout over time. Treadmill training for beginners can initially involve walking on preferred speed for five minutes, and then increase the speed or incline by a few increments for three minutes, also known as the baseline pace. The baseline can be slightly intensified by further boosting speed and incline for two minutes, and decreasing it back to baseline for three minutes. The last seven minutes would be devoted to repeating the two-minute workout and cooling down for five minutes. People who are used to treadmill training can perform several exercises including the treadmill medley to introduce variation to their exercise while getting fit. This involves four different cycles with intervals of five minutes.

Gym Treadmill – Different Brands

In general, commercial treadmills are more commonly used in gyms and fitness centers because of their high-powered motors and are quite bulky. BodyGuard Fitness’ treadmill ranges from roughly $2,000 to more than $4,000. Users can go as fast as 12 miles per hour on this company’s treadmills, whose DC motors range from 2.75 horsepower to 3.4 horsepower. Gold’s Gym treadmill units are great as starter treadmills but may be too simple for hardcore runners. PaceMaster is known for making top-quality exercise equipment, and its treadmills are no exception. Runners can speed up to 12 miles per hour on its different machines, one of which includes e-courses to guide users.