Treadmills
 

I am just curious - who uses the treadmill and how many miles a day or week do you do it for?

Hi
Well I use the treadmill but had fallen out of the habit for quite awhile. I used to ... once upon a time..... power walk on it at 3.5 mph for a minimum of 30 minutes 4 times a week. I know I adjusted the incline.. but can't remember how much..

I am trying to get back into the habit.. So far I've decided to try for a 10-15 mile weekly goal with incline intervals. I think I prefer a distance goal for the week rather than a minumum time since it will encourage me to eventually pick up my snail pace (currently 2.5-3.4 mph). Also, days when I can push myself will make up the difference for days when I don't feel up to more than a mile or so.

How about you?

I'm trying to do walking 5 days a week. Most of those times, probably 4 out of the 5, it's on my treadmill. I do at least 30 minutes per session. Lately, it's been 40-45 minutes. Occasionally, I get in an hour.

On the days I don't treadmill, I've been substituting walking outside (weather permittting) or mallwalking. Those sessions last at least 45 minutes.

Thanks for your reply. I use to jog on the treadmill at 4.7mph and do it for about 10 minutes than 2-3 minutes of walking at a slower pace and then jog at 4.7 mph again and so forth until I reached 2.5 - 3 miles in total ( i never really pay attention to the time im on it)! I have stopped using it (dont ask why) and I am just getting back into it. I have decided to do 3 Miles a day for 4-5 days a week at nothing less than 3.8 mph. I am just wondering what other people do. I realize everyone is different but I am just curious

Lena and Almost
Are you using the incline?
There are no hills to speak of outside here.. and stairs are very difficult to find as well.. So the treadmill is the only way I can manage to work out uphill.

The treadmill at the gym is my exercise of choice most days. :) I usually have the incline to at least 4% and walk about 2.8-3.4 MPH for a minimum of 30 minutes 4-5 times a week. Lately it has been a minimum of 45 minutes with an hour being typical. :) Put some music on and it goes fast! :)

I use a treadmill religiously everyday for almost 50-60 minutes a session. I walk at 3.1mph at a 4.5 incline for about 40 minutes and the last 20 mins I do at a 13.0 incline which is the highest our treadmill goes. Helps to work off the back of the caboose :) all the best,

jaime

I use my treadmill 6 days a week. For some reason, 3.0mph is really fast for me...I think it may have something to do with my height, so I usually go 2.5-3.0 alternating speeds when I feel energetic. I also adjust the incline up, down, and all around in accordance with my eneergy. I walk 60 minutes every day except Sunday with a minimum incline of 1.0 and speed of 2.5. Good luck!

I do 45 mins in the AM and 45 mins in the PM both at 3.0 - 3.5 each session is at least 2.5 miles. I adjust the incline but I have no idea what it's at (our treadmill doesn't have a display for that) If I'm late in the AM I will jump on for a minimum of 20-30 mins and then do a quick 10 - 15 mins when I get home from work and then my regular 45 mins before dinner.

I watch my son's portable dvd player and choose sitcom episodes (2 episodes and I'm ready for my cooldown :) ) or a netflix movie and just watch it in 2 parts :)

Glasgowgirl, 13% incline?!... I would manage that for 2 seconds before I fell down! :)

Ms. Smartypants, I watch a portable DVD player also. I put it right on the treadmill covering all the numbers. My treadmill is programable to automatically change speed and incline at 2 min intervals so I just watch a movie with headphones and walk away.

Of course I only watch movies I've already seen so that I don't have to keep my eyes on the screen if I don't want to .. also.. do you have any favorites you watch? I prefer musicals or movies that have a good musical score.. like:

Fiddler on the Roof
Oliver Twist
Chicago
Little Women

The less action, more dialogue and music the better. An hour goes by really fast this way.

I do inclines when I think about it. Very random, no set pattern.

Jayde,

LOL you are right about trying to keep on the treadmill. When I first started the incline at 13.0 i did it at like 2.5 mph and even though I was walking slower the calories burn quicker with the hightened incline...althought I was sure I was going to catapult myself right through the doors at the gym. I prefer the treadmill thought to any other workout equipment it seems to burn the calories the quickest for me.

13%??!!~ I am still shaking my head at the thought of picking myself up... :0

I just looked in the manual.. my treadmill has a max incline of 14%. Talk about killer hills..

Now you know I am so curious I am going to try this tomorrow morning.. perhaps I should get the ice pack ready in advance!

I walk anywhere from 4-5 miles in the morning which takes about 1 hour and 15 min. I walk about 45 min on an 8-10% incline. And then I walk for the last minutes at 4 mile pace. When I go to the gym I walk at 3.7 m with a 12% incline. Thats for 1 hour which usally burns about 995 calories, which I love! I started doing the inclines once I heard that they help lift...If you know what I mean. I joke and laugh with my friends that my backside used to be heart shaped. Now its more like a baked potato. So lifting and toning is what I want to do!

Holy shnikies! JOGGING at 4.7mph?! I tried doing intervals of walking 2.5 and light (I stress the light) jogging at 4.0 for a full minute, but that felt like I was running more than anything. :o

I only started in the last two weeks, but I started walking on my treadmill and could sustain 2.5-2.8mph with no incline for over an hour plus. I make it a point to do 3 miles, which takes me 65 minutes right now.

That's awesome that you can do 4.7 for any amount of time.

I'm with you Jayde. Tomorrow I'm gonna try to go at an incline.

Thanks for all of your responses. I do not use the incline but after reading all of your replies, I am wondering if I should start. Would it be best to continue what I was doing at no incline, OR.........incline and do a slower speed?

I like to use a mixture of incline and no incline, I walk on an mid-range incline for 5 minutes, then lower it to flat and run at 7.5 speed (I have long legs, so it's not a sprint for me, just a comfortable fast run.) I find this way I don't get as bored, since I have a mixture of walking/incline (for the buns :smug: ) and running/no incline (for the legs in general)

I also use the treadmill almost every weekday. I try and mix things up - changing speeds, adding and taking away the incline. My goal is to get my heart rate up and steady at about 140 bpm so I adjust accordingly. Right now that tends to put me at 2.5 with a 1-2% incline, but one of the big differences for me is whether I use my arms or not. That is my biggest goal right now - be able to not hold on at all. I tend to do about half an hour.

Almost There, I think adding a little incline even if that means a slower speed would be good for a lot of reasons. Like Mandi said it keeps the workout from being boring (if your treadmill adjusts the incline automatically during a workout), and it is good for the buns. 

I used to just walk without an incline because I could get more miles or time in that way.. and walk at higher speeds.. but the incline really seems to be a different kind of workout.
For weight loss I think it is a good idea to do speed and incline intervals (if possible) every few minutes during a workout.. For me anyway it seems to make a big difference.

I did try 11% for a brief moment today.. ouch!! I think I will stick to my max of 6% for now.

So does anyone else watch movies to pass the time?

Inclines while walking are a great way to get the benefit of jogging without the impact.

I usually get on my treadmill 4 days a week and do an interval program for 45-50 minutes. I will start out with a 6 minute walk at a mild incline and a lower speeds (it increases every 45 sec or so), then continue with 3 min jogging at 5.1 and 3 min walking at 3.5 with no incline on either until the 45 minutes is up. I like to end on a double cycle of jogging and then take and extra 5 minutes to walk as a cool down.

I have a TV set up with the treadmill, but I much rather prefer listening to music. Even at the gym, where all machines have their own TV, I find that I keep a higher intensity and enjoy exercise with music. I have heard of people watching action or suspensful movies while working out to have that same effect.

Quick Question
 

One question for you guys: My community's gym is pretty rundown but the treadmill looks like it works. The only thing is it is missing the safety cord and it won't work without it. Does anybody know where I can get one?? Thanks!!

lol some of u here totally AMAZE me!!!!

I just startet this week..I do 3.5 for 20 minutes 2 times a day 1/2 time with inlcine ....morning and after dinner... I went up to 4 and it liked to throw me off the back !!!lol

I have an Image 10,,,I have NO idea what my inline is ,,,,my manual dont say nothing about it..nor does the treadmill......I have to call them Unless the 10 stand for the incline ?????

No idea.....

MY Goal is to walk 1 hr in the morning and at night...that would make it arround 4 miles per day..

Rosario- I would find out what kind of machine it is and then get in touch with the manufacturer. I can't imagine that it costs much to replace.

rmewife- Those are some impressive inclines.. Wow!

Hotcupojava- What kind of machine do you have that it doesn't have a motor. I am so curious about this.

Virgochick- so how did the incline go?????

Treadmills.......
 

Hi,
I use the treadmills at my local Y and usually I use the same one and love it. I started doing their fatburning program( it inclines and declines during a 35 minute workout), Well for the past 2 days I begun this program on the same machine, it would go up to 10. incline, whatever the heck that is, and go down in 2-3 minutes. I was ok with that. Today I decided to use a different machine , stupid me, this machine, using the same fat burning program , went up to a 14.5 incline, I could only do a spead of 2.5 walking. I sweated to death and worked of 370 calories, but I don't think I will choose that machine again. Since I started the treadmill 2 wks ago, I have worked myself up to a 3.8 speed for 45 minutes( the first 20 minutes at a slight incline), and like it,but I also like the fat burning workout if the incline wouldn't go so high up. I can't jog on the treadmill right now, maybe when I loose some weight? Who knows.

Rosario - try just using a magnet (I think that's what most of them are anyway) :)

I use my treadmill at least 6 days a week. I walk for 45 seconds, then jog for 30 seconds and alternate this for 30 to 45 minutes each time. I have been trying to increase my distance by 10% each week for last 4 weeks to see if I can lose this last stubborn 16lbs. Can't get my incline to work for some reason, I think it would help me even more.

Hello
 

I use a teadmill 3x's a week. I am working at trying to improve my running for basic training. I started out jogging at 4.7 mph and it took me 50minutes to do 3 miles or 5km. I have recently worked up to 5.5 mph jog speed at a 1% incline and it takes me about 40 min to complete my 5km. that is with approx 5 min walk to warm up and a few walk intervals thrown in when my heart rate reaches 175 BPM to recover it to 155 BPM before giving it my all again at 5.5 mph! My goal is to one day be able to complete my 5 km in 35 min or less.... Ultimate 5km goal under 30 minutes. I never thought I'd be able to run on a treadmill, but I am actually beginning to like it because it forces me to keep pushing myself. I don't want to end up off the end!! :)
Marie

Do all of you shower immediately after? When you walk twice a day, do you shower twice?
I'm just wondering cause I seem to get yeast overgrowth/skin rash if I don't shower ASAP after getting all sweaty, but I wouldn't mind walking twice in one day if I could.

Is a slow walk better than none? I mean, if I power walk in AM and then do another mile in PM nice and slow, is the second walk even worth my time?