Walking on treadmill

babydiego87

I've just signed up to a fancy new gym and I went yesterday to check it out for my induction. Surprisingly the place was empty so I got to investigate all the machines and play around for a bit. Now, I've always avoided the treadmills because I hate running but I decided I'd try walking on an incline at a highish speed and I got a decent heart rate going. So...walking on an incline a worthwhile cardio exercise or no? The only other cardio machine I really like is the cross trainer so I'm trying to branch out.

jewelleestone

Walking at a moderate pace is a great workout:)

babydiego87

Walking at a moderate pace is a great workout:)

I thought so too. I'm always envious of people who get to go on hikes and whatnot. I'd love to do that but I live in a city.

dcjackson50

Great excercise. Once you build up endurance you can play around with intervals where you walk faster or at a higher incline for 1-2 minutes then back down to regular pace and repeat.
This burns more calories. Good luck !

eblakes93

I don't know where you are from, but having access to an indoor treadmill during the winter months is great. If you have a smart phone or similarly capable device, and access to netflix, I find it fun to walk and watch a fun TV show at the same time. (I'm watching dexter now... omg... so crazy).

MyJourney1960

I've just signed up to a fancy new gym and I went yesterday to check it out for my induction. Surprisingly the place was empty so I got to investigate all the machines and play around for a bit. Now, I've always avoided the treadmills because I hate running but I decided I'd try walking on an incline at a highish speed and I got a decent heart rate going. So...walking on an incline a worthwhile cardio exercise or no? The only other cardio machine I really like is the cross trainer so I'm trying to branch out.

sure - why not. cardio is cardio. when i was going to the gym i preferred the elliptical (i think i burned more calories for less wear and tear on my joints) but i know people who hate the elliptical. My trainer told me to mix things up so sometime days i i would do TM some elliptical some swimming and weights.

AllonsYtotheTardis

I don't enjoy it because I get bored, but there's nothing wrong with using a treadmill for a cardio workout. Have at it!

MissKriss3

Simply... yes

FancyPantsFran

Walking on a treadmill at an incline is a great workout.... I also like the stationary rowing machine... great cardio workout as well as your legs and upper body.!!!

Naturalhiker

Walking like that is good, however you walk all the time in life so just paying for a gym to walk on a treadmill , please don't take offense but it is plain stupid. Doing that incline walk as a warm up before you hit some weights and machines is great and follow it all up with another incline walk like you did at the beginning and that is great. But those who drive me nuts in a gym are the walkers all they do is hit the treadmill for 45 min and do nothing else.

babydiego87

Walking like that is good, however you walk all the time in life so just paying for a gym to walk on a treadmill , please don't take offense but it is plain stupid. Doing that incline walk as a warm up before you hit some weights and machines is great and follow it all up with another incline walk like you did at the beginning and that is great. But those who drive me nuts in a gym are the walkers all they do is hit the treadmill for 45 min and do nothing else.

No offence taken because that's not what I do. I don't want to use weights. I however use a variety of cardio machines for at least 15 minutes each so I don't get bored. I just wanted to know if I was wasting my time by using the treadmill for inclined walking.

babydiego87

I've just signed up to a fancy new gym and I went yesterday to check it out for my induction. Surprisingly the place was empty so I got to investigate all the machines and play around for a bit. Now, I've always avoided the treadmills because I hate running but I decided I'd try walking on an incline at a highish speed and I got a decent heart rate going. So...walking on an incline a worthwhile cardio exercise or no? The only other cardio machine I really like is the cross trainer so I'm trying to branch out.

sure - why not. cardio is cardio. when i was going to the gym i preferred the elliptical (i think i burned more calories for less wear and tear on my joints) but i know people who hate the elliptical. My trainer told me to mix things up so sometime days i i would do TM some elliptical some swimming and weights.

The elliptical is the cross trainer right? It's my favourite!!!! I love that machine.

darrensurrey

Why walk when you can dance? http://youtu.be/dLfUgXcvq4g

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ElizabethFuller

The elliptical is the cross trainer right? It's my favourite!!!! I love that machine.

It is the same, my old gym always called them cross trainers, my new one calls them ellipticals.

beachlover317

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLMWaU-rLJQ&feature=player_embedded

Why just walk or dance - when you can REALLY dance.

babydiego87

I see people walking on the treadmill and just think, "why?". I'm not really saying it's bad, but just walk outside. At least whee I live there is no good reason to walk on a treadmill. It never get below 50F and it hardly rains. And, please don't incline so ridiculously high that you have to hold on for dear life. What's the point of that anyway? If you can't walk up the incline without holding on, what are you doing?

Ok, I'm being judgey, sorry.

Too many people at my gym take up valuable treadmill space by walk 3MPH for an hour. I think they are just avoiding family time. Lol.

As I said above, I live in a city so I don't have the opportunity to go hiking or walking in woods. 3MPH is ridiculous though :laugh:

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babydiego87

I see people walking on the treadmill and just think, "why?". I'm not really saying it's bad, but just walk outside. At least whee I live there is no good reason to walk on a treadmill. It never get below 50F and it hardly rains. And, please don't incline so ridiculously high that you have to hold on for dear life. What's the point of that anyway? If you can't walk up the incline without holding on, what are you doing?

Ok, I'm being judgey, sorry.

Too many people at my gym take up valuable treadmill space by walk 3MPH for an hour. I think they are just avoiding family time. Lol.

As I said above, I live in a city so I don't have the opportunity to go hiking or walking in woods. 3MPH is ridiculous though :laugh:

City here too. Sidewalks.

Boring. I also live in London, where it's constantly cold and rainy

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babydiego87

London's my home and 1st love but it's not great for working out purposes hah

eblakes93

I see people walking on the treadmill and just think, "why?". I'm not really saying it's bad, but just walk outside. At least whee I live there is no good reason to walk on a treadmill. It never get below 50F and it hardly rains. And, please don't incline so ridiculously high that you have to hold on for dear life. What's the point of that anyway? If you can't walk up the incline without holding on, what are you doing?

Ok, I'm being judgey, sorry.

Too many people at my gym take up valuable treadmill space by walk 3MPH for an hour. I think they are just avoiding family time. Lol.

As I said above, I live in a city so I don't have the opportunity to go hiking or walking in woods. 3MPH is ridiculous though :laugh:

You don't know what peoples' fitness level or goals are. 3 MPH may not be enough of a workout for you, but it may be just fine for others.

ElizabethFuller

Yes you can walk on the pavement rather than the treadmill. However, the pavement is uneven, it can be very cold, icy or wet. There are the added dangers of traffic on the roads and dodging bicycles on the pavement. And don't get me started on the subject of dogs with inconsiderate non-pooper-scooper owners. It can be a bit boring on a treadmill but it's not much more nteresting walking around the seets where I live. At least in a big city you can combine window shopping with exercise
If you don't have a nice environment to walk through the treadmill at the gym can be quite attractive, so if you have access to a gym why not do your walking there?

lewandt

I think anything that is above what you do now will work. Walking does not really burn a lot for me but may for others. I still walk everyday because it is so good for you and my dog loves it!

You may have to up your workouts as you get more fit but you can work that out as you go.

Shawshankcan

Yeahs ago, I bought a chest strap heart monitor that was compatible with the treadmill polar brand). I set the treadmill to the fat burn mode and set it for a target heart rate of 140bpm or there about. I kept the speed around 4.0-4.5. The treadmill will automatically adjust the incline to keep your heart rate in the desired zone. Doing this, plus weights and a fairly decent diet, I dropped 40lbs in 3 months.

neandermagnon

OP if you're getting a decent heart rate and it feels challenging for your current level of fitness and you enjoy it, then just do it. If it stops being challenging enough you can switch it up for something else.

the climate I live in is too hot and humid to walk outdoors at more than a slow amble, whereas i can walk at a fast pace for several kilometers indoors on a treadmill with the air conditioning on. I seriously can't wait for the weather to get cool enough to be able to walk outdoors again. And I'd love to go hiking in actual proper mountains, but the mountains I'd like to go hiking in are about 4000km away from where I live...

I hate running and I'm not into self-torture, so that's why I don't run on the treadmill.

re people walking slowly on treadmills at the gym.... maybe they have medical issues that you don't know about. You can't tell by looking at someone if they have a medical problem or disability. Maybe 3mph or whatever slow speed they're doing is the most they can manage, or the most that's advisable for their condition. Additionally, even if they don't have any medical issues, 3mph on a treadmill is better than 0mph on the sofa in front of the TV.

Mom2aej

I see people walking on the treadmill and just think, "why?". I'm not really saying it's bad, but just walk outside. At least whee I live there is no good reason to walk on a treadmill. It never get below 50F and it hardly rains. And, please don't incline so ridiculously high that you have to hold on for dear life. What's the point of that anyway? If you can't walk up the incline without holding on, what are you doing?

Ok, I'm being judgey, sorry.

Too many people at my gym take up valuable treadmill space by walk 3MPH for an hour. I think they are just avoiding family time. Lol.

Ok I haven't posted before but I have to respond to this. I live in an area where there is no place to walk that does not have hills. (not that I mind) but now that it gets dark so early and there are no street lights whatsoever it just not safe to walk outside by the time I get home from work. So I do walk on the treadmill. Its better than nothing. I am working my way up on speed and such but I do what I can do.

I have 3 teenagers plus my husband and I do not do this to "avoid family time". I do this for me. Its MY time. Just like most people on this site, I am trying to loose weight and get into better shape. I have been loosing slowly but that's ok. Slow is better than nothing and at least the scale is going in the right direction.

I may not be fast but I am seeing improvements. I can go much longer than I used to be able to. I can walk up the stairs at my office without dying. I don't like running. my ankles are weak and hurt most of the time. I work at a desk job and sit for 8 hours a day. I do get up and try to move around a bit but its a small office (only 3 of us). I'll get up and go up and down the stairs on my way to the ladies room. So walking on the treadmill at least helps me get more than 2,000 steps a day in.

I just wanted to speak up for those that can't or don't like to run or can't walk outside. Plus on days when it only gets to 20 degrees or so, I don't really want to walk outside more than I have to.

ninerbuff

Walking like that is good, however you walk all the time in life so just paying for a gym to walk on a treadmill , please don't take offense but it is plain stupid. Doing that incline walk as a warm up before you hit some weights and machines is great and follow it all up with another incline walk like you did at the beginning and that is great. But those who drive me nuts in a gym are the walkers all they do is hit the treadmill for 45 min and do nothing else.

While you might feel it's "stupid", there are lots of reasons why people do it. What if they don't have a safe place to walk? What if it's raining outside? What if they have bad arthritis, but walking on a treadmill is tolerable? What if they have knee problems and lifting it at an angle of more than 45 degrees puts them in tremendous pain?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Just a quick note:

When walking on an incline, if one is having to hold on, then either the speed is too fast or the incline is too high. Holding on reduces 30%-50% of the resistance and one is only fooling themselves and getting inaccurate calorie burns when doing it. Hands free.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ScouseNerd

The people ragging on someone for walking on treadmills get me. If they're taking up so much of YOUR treadmill time, why do you need it? Can't you run outside just like they should walk outside? (PS I hate runners who think running up and main drag during rush hour is a good idea - stick to the rural areas or at least somewhere with less than 30% of the city's population)
Places like Canada; in the summer there are heat advisories to exercise indoors 50% of the time, and if you're asking me to go for a quick jaunt in a snowstorm, well...
The only reason I HAVE a gym membership is because I can't rely on the outdoors to exercise. We don't all live in LA.

But anyway, wanted to welcome you back Diego! And walking is great exercise! An incline helps of course, but there's been studies that show walkers are more likely to lose weight than runners - one factor is they're likely to eat less after a workout because they have less of that "I deserve it" mentality.

Good luck!

Kevalicious99

Contrary to what some people will have you believe walking is great exercise. There is nothing wrong with not running on the treadmill.

You will be just fine walking .. it is a great cardio exercise.