Treadmills are one of the most popular forms of exercise equipment on the market. All over the world, people use them at their favorite gyms or purchase them to use at home. Treadmills are designed for cardiovascular activity, allowing the user to run on the machine in the same way they would if they were outside.

Often, we wonder, how many calories do you burn on a treadmill? Many variables determine how many calories someone can burn on a treadmill, with your current weight and the amount of time you spend on the treadmill being the most obvious factors. If you are looking to burn as many calories as possible, there are many more things you need to know about how a treadmill works.

Treadmills can be modified to make your cardio workout more intense and difficult, increasing the number of calories you can burn. Today, we’ll discuss some tips to keep in mind when looking to maximize calorie burning. To get a clear idea of a treadmill’s potential, we can start with a general “base” number of how many calories you can burn.

To start simply, someone weighing about 145 pounds can burn 176 calories during a 45-minute walk on a treadmill that has no incline. A heavier person can burn even more calories by walking on a treadmill with no incline. Someone weighing over 180 pounds could do the same 45-minute walk on the treadmill with no incline and burn up to 100 more calories than the 145-pound person.

Now that we have an understanding of a base number of how many calories someone can burn, we can look into factors to incorporate into the treadmill workouts that will help you reach your goals. If your goal is to lose a substantial amount of weight, become more physically fit, and learn how to run, you’ll want to remember these tips.

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INCREASE THE INCLINE

how many calories do you burn on a treadmill

To lose as much weight as possible on a treadmill, you should gradually increase the incline after warming up with a low-intensity walk. Increasing the incline makes your workout more difficult. This will cause you to burn more calories and also work out your leg muscles. With each increase of 1 per cent, you can burn up to 12% more calories than if the treadmill was flat.

To make the most of a treadmill, you can play with the incline function and ease yourself into a routine that lets you exert enough energy and get your heart pumping. To do so, you can increase the incline every few minutes or so until you feel you’ve reached your limit. After running at the highest incline for a few minutes, you can let your body cool down by slowly decreasing the incline but continuing to run for a few minutes with each decrease.

PICK UP THE PACE

Running on a treadmill will always burn more calories than walking. If you have never run before, you can slowly get used to it by walking, then walking briskly, followed by a light jog, and eventually, you’ll get the hang of running. The same 145-pound person we discussed before can increase the number of calories

they’re burning drastically by running, and if they run at a speed of 7 miles per hour for 45 minutes they can burn around 450 calories.

Let’s look at another example of how many calories you can burn by running. At a speed of 7 miles per hour, someone weighing 180 pounds or more can burn just under 1000 calories by running for an hour. This is excellent news for anyone hoping to drop some weight, but it may be more realistic to look at how many calories you can burn by jogging instead of running intensely. Don’t worry, you’ll get there!

A jog can be considered running at around 5 miles per hour. This is a good speed to master before you try a high-intensity running speed, common for athletes and experienced marathon runners. Someone weighing around 180 pounds can jog at this pace on a treadmill for around an hour and burn around 745 calories, not too bad! Someone weighing around 130 pounds can do the same workout for an hour on a treadmill and burn 500 calories.

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STAY AWAY FROM THE RAILING

Your treadmill will come with handrails that are useful when you step on the treadmill and need to find your bearings. This can be particularly convenient if you have never used a treadmill before. They can also help you hold steady while you step off the treadmill after your workout.

Despite this, you should stay away from the handrails when you’re working out, whether it be by briskly walking or running. Relying on the handrails can affect how much energy your body is exerting and also lower the number of calories you can burn. According to Very Well Fit, using the railing can also trigger poor posture habits and stop you from building balance.

Additionally, a treadmill is meant for you to feel like you’re exercising outside where there are no handrails. Now, if you do feel unsafe at any point, you can grip onto the railing to regain your control. Once you get the hang of the treadmill, you won’t have to use the hand railing as often.

TRY HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING (HIIT)

To make the most of your treadmill and to burn the most calories, you can try some high-intensity routines combined with moments of walking and light jogging. High-intensity interval training means combining intense workouts with moments of rest, and there are several ways you can do this on your treadmill. HIIT is known to be an effective way to burn calories, and while it is usually associated with weight lifting, you can also do HIIT when performing cardiovascular exercise.

Most HIIT routines start by walking briskly on the treadmill for about 5 minutes. Afterwards, you can work your way up by jogging for about 10 minutes. Jogging can help you burn more calories than walking and get your body prepared for running more intensely.

After jogging for 10 minutes, you can start running for either 30 seconds or 1 minute, whatever is easier for you. You may feel more comfortable starting with 30 seconds and trying 1 minute later. You should run at a speed of 10 miles per hour, and after your time is up you can go back to walking at a speed of about 4 miles per hour for 2 minutes.

HIIT is a great way to exert enough energy to burn more calories on your treadmill. It is designed to get your heart rate pumping and for you to push yourself. Your treadmill was a big investment, so the worst thing you can do is not make the most of it!

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CHECK OUT THE BUILT-IN FEATURES

Lastly, to maximize how many calories you can burn on your treadmill, be sure to thoroughly inspect the console and the built-in features. Harvard Health Publishing mentions that many treadmills come with consoles that have built-in, customizable cardiovascular workout routines that you can follow. Additionally, most treadmills come with a feature that shows you how many calories you have burned, a perfect way to keep track of your fitness goals.

Not only that, but technological advancements have allowed for treadmills to be built with USB plug-ins and even screens you can use to watch TV and movies. Knowing you can catch up on your favorite media while exercising should inspire you to get moving and burn as many calories as possible.

Most treadmills also have a built-in heart monitor feature. To make the most of this feature, you should calculate your fat-burning heart rate and look out for it on your treadmill’s heart monitor. Your fat-burning heart rate is about 70% of your maximum heart rate which you can figure out by subtracting your age from 220.

Next, you just have to calculate 70% of your maximum heart rate and you have your fat-burning heart rate! You will know when you’ve reached that point by consulting the monitor on the treadmill. When you’re in the fat-burning zone your body is burning enough calories for weight loss.

To help understand the fat-burning heart rate, let’s use an example. A 40-year-old woman would subtract the number 40 from 220, giving her a maximum heart rate of 180. This means that her fat-burning heart rate would be 126. When using her treadmill, she would be able to know she was in the fat-burning zone by checking the built-in monitor for the number 126. How convenient!

CONCLUSION

We’re confident we’ve given you all the tips you need to burn as many calories as possible on your treadmill! Knowing how many calories you can burn with your current weight, as well as how to make the most of everything you can do with a treadmill will go a long way. Whether you’re using a treadmill at the gym, or have your own, you should be on your way to achieving your weight loss and fitness goals.

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