The treadmill can help you by keeping you active while at the same time burning calories. You can walk on the treadmill, or run for a distance. The fast pace you will run will enable you to burn a lot of calories in a short time.
It’s always great to want to get in shape and get healthier. In this article, let’s talk about using the treadmill to lose stubborn belly fat.
Running at least 30 minutes on a treadmill every day will result in visible belly fat loss within 4-6 months. If you are a busy bee, at least 5 days per week will also provide amazing results. Regular treadmill training also has long-term benefits, such as eliminating visceral fat, not letting fat build up with weight gain, etc.
Want to learn more about how to use treadmills to lose belly fat and start your treadmill training journey? Let’s dive in!
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How to Use Treadmill to Lose Belly Fat
You can use the treadmill for regular walking, jogging, and running. Certainly, the level of benefits and time till visible changes occur differs slightly. These treadmill activities bring your heart rate up while working your muscles. An increased heart rate leads to higher oxygen consumption, burning fat in the process.
So, the more you break a sweat, the more fat you burn. The overall fat burn and weight loss certainly include belly fat loss. A good flat stomach treadmill workout session will have your body restoring oxygen levels for up to 48 hours afterward. You will be burning calories within that time frame without actively working out!
Hence, the main goal of using a treadmill to lose fat– is to increase your heart rate steadily.
A treadmill for belly fat reduction is not only a good option, but it will also benefit you long term. Treadmill training can help you get rid of visceral fat for good. If you’re regularly working out on the treadmill, it will prevent deep belly fat build-up even with weight gain!
Walking on the Treadmill
This is the most basic function of the treadmill. But, don’t be fooled- it has benefits nonetheless. Walking on the treadmill is the best option for beginners to build up their stamina for further treadmill training. Elders who can’t cope with more intense workouts, heavy running, etc., can walk on the treadmill as well.
Many people who are injured or are recovering from an injury cannot exercise. They can walk on the treadmill to stay active. After complex surgeries, many face a sudden weight gain and are scared to start exercising. Walking on the treadmill is a great way to stay active and lose belly fat in both cases.
Walking on the treadmill is an essential starter exercise; it needs more time and effort to get the desired results. If you want to lose belly fat by walking on the treadmill only, it will take quite some time.
Set aside at least 45-60 minutes a day to walk on the treadmill. Studies show that walking at a moderate 2 mph for an hour can burn you 200-250 calories.
Break it down into two daily sessions if you can’t manage the time at once. Make sure your pace and posture are steady and stable. Do this at least 5 days a week, if not every day. As you get used to the time and pace, increase your walk-time on the treadmill. If possible, slightly but slowly increase the walking pace as well. You will observe prominent change/reduction in belly fat within 6-8 months or even in 1 month! Move ahead and stick to the end.
Jogging & Running on the Treadmill
The main difference between jogging and running is the pace or speed. You can call it jogging if you are going at a pace equal to or less than 6 mph. Anything over 6 mph will be categorized as running. Although the two use the same muscles, the difference in pace activates them differently.
You can even start with jogging and slowly work your way up to running at a more incredible speed. Simple jogging for half an hour can burn you 200-500 calories. You can burn 450-650 calories in half an hour by running.
Similar to walking on the treadmill, you should gradually pick up your pace and increase training time. As your heart rate increases, you breathe more oxygen. So you burn more fat & calories and sweat more. This overall increased fat burn will also burn your belly fat.
Use an underwater treadmill to simulate the stress of running a marathon, learn to run in shoes instead of spikes, and find out what heat training is and do it!
However, you should not cross 45 minutes while using the treadmill for jogging and running. Increased heart rate for so long can be rather damaging to your heart. You may even be at risk of having a heart attack. Ideally, jogging or running at least half an hour, 5 days a week- can provide visible results in 4-6 months.
How to Lose Weight on a Treadmill in a Month
If you want to optimize the results of your hard work, just blindly pacing on the treadmill is not enough. You can certainly do a few things to optimize your treadmill training. These tips will help you lose belly fat and overall fat better and faster or to say, in a month with a proper schedule. Moreover, they will help improve your overall health and outcome.
1. Manage Efficiency
If you are not a regular or active person, you can’t expect to do the most in a day. You need to efficiently and effectively manage your training. Gradually building up the efficiency will be your secret to achieving the best result.
Start at slower or slower paces. Stay on the treadmill as long as you can without tiring yourself out. You need to get your body used to it and slowly build up stamina. You can break your training time into smaller sessions for comfort. Take small breaks in between sessions.
As a few days pass, your body will get used to treadmill training. You can then slowly reduce the break time. Soon, you will be able to run the whole 30 minutes at a stretch. From then on, we can work on increasing our train time further! Similarly, you can also increase the running pace as your stamina increases.
2. Optimize Each Session
Working out on the treadmill does not only help while you’re pacing on it- but for hours after. A proper workout session can keep burning calories actively for up to 48 hours afterward. So, you need to ensure you are not injuring yourself during the training, instead of helping your body reap the best results:
3. Warm-up and Stretch :
It is essential that you warm up and stretch properly before and after any workout. Treadmill training is surely no different! These help keep you from pulling any muscle suddenly. It also helps warm up your body and prepares it for the session.
Perform a few basic stretches beforehand. Walk at a comfortable pace for at least 2-5 minutes when you get on the treadmill. This will help you tackle your session better and with more ease.
- Take Short Breaks & Manage Heart Rate
Managing the heart rate is the key to a successful treadmill training session. Lack of breaks will result in inefficient workouts, as you will tire yourself out easily from increased heart rate. It’s best to monitor your heart rate while you are on the treadmill.
If your heart rate is very high for an extended period, your body may not be able to handle it. You may even be at the risk of having a heart attack. So, it is pretty important not to overwork yourself and take necessary short breaks.
Similarly, taking an extended break is not suitable for your body either. Remember that increased heart rate burns calories and will also burn your belly fat. If you rest for longer, your heart rate will go down to normal. In that case, you will have to start all over again to get your heart rate up. This can put a strain on your muscle and affect your efficiency negatively.
- Post-Workout Diet
Looking after your food and nutrition is one of the best ways to optimize your training session. You must incorporate a healthy diet along with treadmill training. Otherwise, all that hard work will go to waste. Take lots of fruits and vegetables with your meals.
Curate a diet/meal plan based on your body type and goals. This will help you reach your goals sooner! You can also take vitamin supplements to improve your overall health and help fasten the fat loss progress.
An important thing to note here is that you should never work out within two hours of having a heavy meal. This will mess up your digestive system and do more damage than good. Wait for a sufficient amount of time between meals and treadmill training sessions. Treadmill training surely burns a lot of calories and makes you sweat. Make sure you are drinking enough water and staying hydrated.
Bottom line
Using a treadmill is a great way to exercise from the comfort of being indoors- be it your home or the gym. Not only does it help target belly fat weight loss, but it also helps you lose weight overall and improve your health. So, keep some time aside for yourself every day to stay active on the treadmill!
We hope this article helped you understand how to use treadmills to lose belly fat. Have more questions? Let us know!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Is running on the treadmill better than jogging outside?
Yes, running on the treadmill is better than jogging outside. The flatter running surface of the treadmill helps your body better absorb the shock of each step. So, there is less impact and strain on your knees, ankles, and joints.
Q: Can walking on the treadmill burn belly fat?
Yes, walking regularly on the treadmill will help you burn belly fat. But, you have to make sure you’re not at a calorie surplus. To get prominently visible changes, you should walk 40-45 minutes on the treadmill at least 5 days a week.
Q: What is the best speed to run on a treadmill to burn fat?
For running, you can go at a normal pace of 5-7 mph. Running at the pace of 8-10 mph to enter the optimum fat-burning zone. Make sure you start your warm-up jog or briskly walk at 3-5 mph.
