Used Treadmills

Because your body has got used to walking at the same pace for the same amount of time everyday. You need to plan out your workout sessions in accordance with the targets set by you.

The reasons for using a treadmill may differ from person to person. Whether you wanna loose that extra weight or whether you wanna improve the condition of your heart, the purpose behind your using the treadmill would be different from that of your friend. It may be the time to adopt a schedule with a variety of walking workouts. To understand the various workouts, you first need to understand the concept of MHR.

Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)
Whether you are working out on a right pace or not can only be determined when you are aware of your MHR. MHR is determined by your genetic make-up, age and gender. You may rely on generalizations but it is always ideal to get it checked clinically by a cardiologist or exercise physiologist by carrying out a treadmill test. However, if you are over the age of 35, have had a history of heart diseases or are overweight, clinical testing is recommended strongly. The basic MHR can be calculated as follows:

1) Men = 220 &ndash age
2) Women = 226 &ndash age

After you know your MHR, you can choose from any treadmill workout from the following, depending on your requirements. But for each workout, stop after every 10 minutes to do some easy stretching. While, for the workouts that are above 70 % of MHR, a 10 minute warm-up at an easy pace and some stretching is suggested before you move on to the suggested rate. Once you have finished walking fast, finish off by walking slowly at an easy pace for 10 minutes and light stretching.

You can choose the workout that best suits your requirement from the following list:
1) Weight control walk: 60-70 % of MHR, daily for 45-60 minutes. This is a kind of brisk pace, where you can notice your breathing but can still hold a conversation along. If you workout at this pace for a longer duration, you end up burning calories which force the body to utilize its fat stores for energy.

2) Easy health walk: 50-60 % of MHR, daily for 30 minutes. This is a comfortable as well as purposeful pace which helps in building long term health and well-being.

3) Aerobic walk:70-80 % of MHR for 20-60 minutes, every alternative day. On the days you don't carry out this walk, undertake weight control walk or easy health walk. This is a quick pace walking with loud breathing which will not make you go out of breath. It is very effective in improving your aerobic fitness.

4) Distance/Endurance walk:65-80 % of MHR for 5-10 miles, once per week. It improves your bearing capacity. If you are planning to participate in a 5K or 10K race, your distance walk should exceed the race distance by a mile or two.

5) Economy workout: These are the short sessions of walking as fast as you can for 30 seconds followed by a 2 minute slowed down walk. Repeat the process 8 - 12 times, once per week. For those who participate in races, it helps in building speed as well as technique.

6) Athletic performance walk: 80-92 % of MHR for not more than 50 minutes, 1-3 times a week with days in between. This is a very fast pace walking with heavy breathing. You may need to start with jogging to attain this level.

Choose a workout style for yourself and just go for it! Whether you use a manual or a motorized treadmill, the facility to count the rate of your heartbeat is available in both of them. So, you should have no problem in undertaking any of these workout styles.