Treadmill Question
 

I started walking on my treadmill again today. I can get to about 2.5, sometimes 2.7.

Is that speed fast enough to help with my weight loss? I am also doing weight training to help tone.

Any advice or opinions are welcome. :hug:

TIA,
Jell

The speed doesn't matter, IMHO. What matters is your perceived level of intensity, and getting your heart-rate up.

What's fast enough for me to feel challenged will be too slow for others. I read all the time on 3FC about how people are going "slow" at 5.0, or more! I started at 3.5, and have only recently gotten up to 4.0 mph. For me, that's a nice jogging pace. For others, it's a warm-up walk. :D

Anyway, on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being sitting on the couch and watching TV, and 10 being "my heart is going to explode out of my chest and I'm about to pass out because I can't breathe!" you should aim for a 5-7.

As for your target heart, that is unique to you. There are websites out there that can help you figure out what it should be.

Hope this is helpful to you.

Hi Jell,

Don't worry too much about speed, it is different for everybody. Walk as fast as you can manage with your current weight and give yourself a couple of weeks before you can increase the speed a bit. It will get better as you continue exercising. If you can, increase your treadmill incline while maintaining the current speed - that will burn more calories. The incline should be at least 1% to imitate outdoors conditions. A pretty good workout is (after you have given yourself enough time to warm up) to increase the incline by 1% after each minute - go as high as you can and then start decreasing by 1% after each minute. If you incorporate this into your treadmill routine, that will help with the cardio and the calories burnt.

Speed is irrelevant. It's how hard you're working that matters! I would suggest figuring out your max heart rate (220 - your age) and then determining what range you want to be in. I find high intensity work is the most effective for weight loss so when I'm on the treadmill my heart rate is between 80 and 95% of my max. For instance, 0.8 x max heart rate = target heart rate. I wear a heart rate monitor now, but before I would simply take my pulse every ten minutes for 6 seconds and then multiply that number by 10. For example, 18 beats in 6 seconds = 180beats/minute. You'll start to get a feel for how hard you need to be working to get your heart rate into whatever your target zone may be. Just make sure you're aware at when things are becoming too easy as well. Running at 6.0mph on the treadmill used to easily get my heart rate into the 90% range and now I have to run at 7.0mph to get the same effect. Your max heart rate doesn't change with fitness level, but what you have to do to achieve your target range will.

Hopefully that made some sense :o. LOL

Thanks everyone for your replies. Answered a lot of questions I had. I am starting at 2.5, with starting with an incline tomorrow.

I'll let you guys know how it helps. :carrot: