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DAMON'S
GUIDE TO TREADMILLS
(Always Under Construction)
DURATION Duration is the key. A cheap sexual innuendo to explain this concept is the fact that "it's not how fast you go, but how long you go!" I have personally witnessed many would be fitness enthusiasts, usually muscle jocks or out of shape couch potatoes, get on the treadmill, crank it up and run only a mile? Of course, sprinting that mile was great, any form of exercise that taxes the heart has benefits, yet what has truly been accomplished? The fact is, for I have tested it, the first mile ran, walked, or crawled will yield only a 100 calories burned. For those that think running a six minute mile will burn more fat than walking a fifteen mile are seriously mistaken. The fact is, that fat is not utilized for the first twenty minutes, because carbohydrates, whether you like it or not women, are our primary energy source, hence are the first to go. So the rule of thumb is not how fast you can complete a workout, but how much time you can devote to a cardio session. Of course there are variations to this rule, for interval workouts cause the heart to work a lot harder than one continuous speed, but I will discuss that later. Here are the basics for the novice treadmill user.
Why
is the optimum 40-45 minutes? Is that the magic number? Well, yes and
no? Depending on the results desired, is solely based on the individual's
decision. But if loosing fat and weight are the goals, then fifty-five
minutes is the ideal rule of thumb. Some cardio enthusiasts even do an
hour, for I used to also, but in the long term, an hour is very taxing
on the body and some studies reveal that it will cause an accelerated
aging. By all means, if you are a go-getter, and really want results fast,
an hour a day will not kill you in the short term. Returning to the statement
those twenty minutes burns only carbohydrates, most individuals trying
to loose fat should do at least forty minutes. Ten minutes of fat burning,
that is after the first twenty minutes of the workout, is really not enough.
Once the enthusiast has obtained their desired fat content level, the
sessions can become only thirty minutes. Thirty minutes is the option
of choice by most individuals.
FREQUENCY Frequency varies from individual to individual. Yet, the range is 3-6 days, and after the sixth day, the body should really take a day off to recover. The treadmill, although most all new models are padded, can cause stress on the joints that other machines, such as elliptical greatly eliminate and reduce. Let us face it, no matter how dedicated a person may be, our lives can interfere with even the best laid plans. Doing the 3 day a week schedule, benefits those that are trying to gain weight and maximize muscle mass. The ones that are desperately trying to loose weight, on the other hand, are not going to like this, are going to have to do five-six. Those that want to reduce body fat, even though they are at a healthy weight, are also are looking at five-six day a week sessions.
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