New to treadmill (muscle, fat loss, treadmills, build)

[Oobie119]

I'll be moving to a new apartment complex next month and Im really excited. They have a very nice work out room with rows of nice treadmills. Ive been wanting to start some cardio for a while so here's my chance. I want to lose about 30 lbs as quick as possible and will work on my eating habits also. Id like to also work on my rear and get it a bit firmer..

Can anyone suggest a plan? How long do I run for each day or weekly, do I do it by minutes or miles? and do I run on an incline or not and how often?

[Rita Mordio]

I would start out slow and just walk on the treadmills to start. That way, you get a schedule and routine going. That's the biggest problem with a lot of starters - they don't make the activity a habit, and eventually drop like flies.

Beyond that, try to get there at least 15 minutes a day.

[ShepsMom]

I personally don't like to spend much time on treadmill, i use it ones a week to run/jog for about 30 min. It's quiet hard on my ankles.

I would suggest to vary your workout routine, try incorporate weight lifting, or some other type of exercise, it's good for your mentially and physically. You've got to have variety

Good luck with your weight loss, and congrats on starting to exercise!

[BarbJ]

Yes, start out slow and get your routine down. The treamill can get quite boring so I, use my IPod to listen to books on tape while I'm on the TM. Also It's the length of time that you are on the treadmill as opposed to how fast you go that is important for weight loss. When I was really doing a good job with it, I spent 30-60 minutes an afternoon walking at 3.5 miles.

[southdown]

If you want to get into some fat-burning, I'd recommend interval training, where you walk and run alternately. It keeps your heart rate up to fat-burning levels without wiping you out!! I've been doing this for the last 6 weeks and it's working well.

Walk 5 mins (to warm up) at a brisk 3.5-4 mph; then run at 5.5-6.5 mph for 60 seconds, then slow to the brisk walk for 90 seconds. Repeat the 'walk and run' intervals six or eight times, then walk to cool down for 5 mins. Do about 30 mins in total at least, but 60 mins would be better!

Three times a week is good, with weight training, swimming, biking etc in between - something which doesn't impact your knees.

As you improve, you can up the running time, and gradually get up to running for five minutes, walking for 3, or however you feel comfortable.

Cool Running :: The Couch-to-5K Running Plan has a good system on the website, you can start the training prog. and just stop at a level where you feel good.

There is a really useful podcast of it at Podcasts so you can run/walk to the instructions and music on your ipod.

Put the incline on 0.5 - 1 if you like, but it's not vital. When walking you could up the incline, for a bit of variety.

have fun!

[TwiloMike]

Originally Posted by Oobie119

I'll be moving to a new apartment complex next month and Im really excited. They have a very nice work out room with rows of nice treadmills. Ive been wanting to start some cardio for a while so here's my chance. I want to lose about 30 lbs as quick as possible and will work on my eating habits also.

See the HIIT thread in this section for tips on most effective cardio.

Id like to also work on my rear and get it a bit firmer..

Treadmills will do zero for this. Absolutely nothing. Your rear may shrink as the fat melts off but the firmness in a rear is a factor of muscle... which you have to build up with resistance training. The little signs you may see on a treadmill where a light does on on the diagram by the rear section telling you that you're "working your rear" is a gimmick. It's entirely ineffective.

Can anyone suggest a plan? How long do I run for each day or weekly, do I do it by minutes or miles? and do I run on an incline or not and how often?

Steady state running is horrible cardio for fat loss. See HIIT.