treadmill question

emma7437

I am beginning to improve my cardio. I am using my treadmill and run for a minute and walk for a minute. I can manage 5/6 times each (I know REALLY bad - but it will get better).

My question is this - am I better to run at say 8.2 and recover at 6, or run at say 9, and recover each minute at 5. Numbers I think are in kms an hour. Which will get me better long term improvement?

Thanks in anticipation of your guidance

SwindonJogger

it's impossible to advise without knowing your physiology. I'd suggest using a popular program such as couch to 5k which has a program for treadmill users and trying it out. A heart rate monitor may be useful to check what your heart rate is doing during your workout and guaging how hard you are working.

Tan43

Hi Emma,

As you are just starting off I would ease your way into it. The beauty of interval training is that you go flat out for a length of time then slow down for a length of time. I run this way on the treadmill every couple of days. Try running at 9km for a minute and then walking at 5km for 2 minutes as recovery to start with. If the 9k is too much ( so hard that you cannot breathe!) then slow it back down. It is all trial and errror until you find the zone. But remember, interval training is supposed to push you so when the run and recovery portions becomes to comfortable then you make it faster. Also, don`t forget to have the inclination set to at least 1%. Good luck and have fun!!!