Does a treadmill do any good?

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FashionQueen86
FashionQueen86 Posts: 51 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This might seem like a stupid question, but it's like almost every time I'm on a treadmill, I feel like it's lying to me. It takes super long to burn calories yet my body feels like it's being pushed hard enough to burn more than what the machine says. I'm able to jog the treadmill for an hour between 3.8 or 4.0 mile speed. The question I have is that are treadmills even that effective? That's all you pretty much see in gyms, but I could have sworn I saw somewhere that it does more damage than help.

What exercises helped you lose a lot of weight?
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Replies

  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    I did all my cardio on an elliptical and treadmil in the winter. I reached maintenance in February. You're going to lose weight regardless of what you do if you eat at a deficit. But I ate back all my calories and still reached goal.

    So yes, they work. But nothing beats running/walking outside with wind hitting you. :) I only use machines when the weather is gross on a cardio day.
  • bluworld
    bluworld Posts: 135 Member
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    I lost my first 50 lbs using a treadmill for exercise. It helped with aerobic conditioning. But, my caloric deficit caused my weightloss. Exercise doesn't burn the calories you'd hope it would.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    They're less effective than running outside, but much more effective than sitting on the couch.

    I run on a treadmill regularly (I like to run at weird times when I don't feel safe running and I live in an area with fierce winters) and I think it works just fine. I burn a lot of calories according to my calculations (I don't use the machine's numbers).

    What damage do you think it is doing? How much are you wanting to burn?
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,716 Member
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    The calorie burns on machines are generally wrong. Don't rely on that number for actual calories burned.

    I would suggest alternating your days: one day do your 60 min. jog, but the next day do maybe 30 min. of high-incline intervals. It's not the treadmill itself that will stall you from seeing results. It's being too repetitive, doing the same routine and not pushing yourself.

    Also, I used the calories burned number as a gauge only. I input my stats and then record my time, what type of workout I did, and the calories burned number. Then I know that I need to keep pushing myself to exceed that number to keep seeing results.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    edited April 2015
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    The thing about exercise is it takes an awful lot to burn significant amounts of calories, hence your primary focus should be on creating a deficit from what you consume. If anything many machines overestimate the calories burned rather than underestimate. Treadmills are as effective as the intensity and duration you put in. Try an incline.

    Imo the cardio you are likely to see are treadmills, eliptical, spin bikes rower, arc trainer, stepper, stairmaster, then others might have a krankl, rope machine, jacobs lader. Treadmills are just fine, why not practice pushing yourself a bit for short periods to increase your fitness level?

    What exercise helps you lose? the one that has you weighing , logging your food and exercising portion control. If you are going to use exercise to assist with weight loss then id do a mix of cardio and resistance on a regular basis. Exercises you can stick with, enjoy and make an effort to improve.
  • BettyM1017
    BettyM1017 Posts: 616 Member
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    I run on a treadmill because the impact of concrete beneath my feet is a bit more than my body can take.

    As far as effectiveness, it's more effective than doing nothing. However, you are, for the most part, only working your legs. Working your arms as well raises your calorie burn something like 40%, I think. So, a four-limbed aerobic activity like using the elliptical or taking kickboxing class would burn more calories.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
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    3.8 - 4.0mph is not very fast, and is more of a brisk walk than a jog, so it isn't going to burn a lot of calories because it doesn't take that much effort to move your weight around at that speed. Walking/running speed is different for everyone because of gait, and stride length, but I think it's safe to consider 3.8-4.0mph to be a walk unless you are extremely short.

    Since you're going for a straight hour, what you probably should be doing is trying to increase your speed. Your heart needs to get used to working better under times of more exertion. I would suggest working toward a goal like maybe completing a 5k in under 35 minutes.

    Here's a treadmill c25k program:

    http://www.c25k.com/c25k_treadmill.html

    You're already getting past the 5k mark if you're going at least 3.8mph for a whole hour, so start out at week 1, and see how your jogs/runs feel at 4.5 mph. If that is too easy for you, then increase it to 5mph the next day you run, and so on until you find a speed where you actually do feel like you're exerting yourself by the end of the session. Just remember, the first few intervals might not make you feel as though you're exerting yourself at all, so don't automatically increase the speed after the first few minutes just because it's easy.

    Once you find a good speed, stick to the program until you can actually run the whole time at that speed without needing walk breaks. Once you're able to do that for a week, or two, then increase the speed incrementally. There will obviously come a time when you've reached your maximum, but that's likely quite long off, and by that time you'll be able to tell what is, or is not too fast for you.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    FashionQueen86 wrote: »
    This might seem like a stupid question, but it's like almost every time I'm on a treadmill, I feel like it's lying to me. It takes super long to burn calories yet my body feels like it's being pushed hard enough to burn more than what the machine says. I'm able to jog the treadmill for an hour between 3.8 or 4.0 mile speed. The question I have is that are treadmills even that effective? That's all you pretty much see in gyms, but I could have sworn I saw somewhere that it does more damage than help.

    What exercises helped you lose a lot of weight?

    Of course the treadmill is effective. I lost 50lbs and was able to get my 5K time to just under 20min with 99% of my running on the treadmill. It's like any other exercise/machine. The effectivity depends upon how much work you put into it and how well you're watching your diet.

    Not sure how many calories you're expecting, but I would guess 3.8mph for 60 min would be what....200 cals...maybe 250.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Caloric deficit for weight loss and exercise for health and to help that deficit. YES, it does help!
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    edited April 2015
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    janejellyroll wrote: »

    They're less effective than running outside, but much more effective than sitting on the couch.

    yupp! but that does not mean its right for you. I would suggest switching it up some, do some shorter slightly faster runs, put it on hilly/random mode. Treadmill times feels way more torturous to me flat and the same speed than when I put hills in it, makes no sense since hills are "hard" but I think monotony wears on the mind and body.

    or, find another way to exercise you like more.

    or run outside, way more fun!
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    Yes. Get your heart rate up and break a sweat, and yep, you are burning calories. Good job! Don't trust the machine's calculations for calories burned, though, they're pretty inaccurate. Buy a good heart rate monitor with a chest strap to get a closer estimation.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »

    They're less effective than running outside, but much more effective than sitting on the couch.

    yupp! but that does not mean its right for you. I would suggest switching it up some, do some shorter slightly faster runs, put it on hilly/random mode. Treadmill times feels way more torturous to me flat and the same speed than when I put hills in it, makes not sense but I think monotony wears on the mind and body.

    or, find another way to exercise you like more.

    or run outside, way more fun!

    With all the exercise options available, nobody should ever set foot on a treadmill if they don't like it.
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
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    I lost almost 60lbs on a treadmill (along with a deficit). I enjoy both treadmill and outside. On a tread mill it is easier for me to do some interval training, which helps me increase my pacing. When I am hitting the pavement it is harder for me to push myself like I can on the treadmill.
  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
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    BZAH10 wrote: »
    The calorie burns on machines are generally wrong. Don't rely on that number for actual calories burned.

    This. I also put a towel over the console so it isn't staring me in the face.



  • marissafit06
    marissafit06 Posts: 1,996 Member
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    You might want to consider adding intervals if you want to work on increasing your calorie burns.
  • FashionQueen86
    FashionQueen86 Posts: 51 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    They're less effective than running outside, but much more effective than sitting on the couch.

    I run on a treadmill regularly (I like to run at weird times when I don't feel safe running and I live in an area with fierce winters) and I think it works just fine. I burn a lot of calories according to my calculations (I don't use the machine's numbers).

    What damage do you think it is doing? How much are you wanting to burn?

    I guess the damage I was referring to was on the knees.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    FashionQueen86 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    They're less effective than running outside, but much more effective than sitting on the couch.

    I run on a treadmill regularly (I like to run at weird times when I don't feel safe running and I live in an area with fierce winters) and I think it works just fine. I burn a lot of calories according to my calculations (I don't use the machine's numbers).

    What damage do you think it is doing? How much are you wanting to burn?

    I guess the damage I was referring to was on the knees.

    Was the claim that it would damage your knees more than running outside or more than another type of machine used for cardio?
  • FashionQueen86
    FashionQueen86 Posts: 51 Member
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    peachyfuzzle wrote: »
    3.8 - 4.0mph is not very fast, and is more of a brisk walk than a jog, so it isn't going to burn a lot of calories because it doesn't take that much effort to move your weight around at that speed. Walking/running speed is different for everyone because of gait, and stride length, but I think it's safe to consider 3.8-4.0mph to be a walk unless you are extremely short.

    Since you're going for a straight hour, what you probably should be doing is trying to increase your speed. Your heart needs to get used to working better under times of more exertion. I would suggest working toward a goal like maybe completing a 5k in under 35 minutes.

    Here's a treadmill c25k program:

    http://www.c25k.com/c25k_treadmill.html

    You're already getting past the 5k mark if you're going at least 3.8mph for a whole hour, so start out at week 1, and see how your jogs/runs feel at 4.5 mph. If that is too easy for you, then increase it to 5mph the next day you run, and so on until you find a speed where you actually do feel like you're exerting yourself by the end of the session. Just remember, the first few intervals might not make you feel as though you're exerting yourself at all, so don't automatically increase the speed after the first few minutes just because it's easy.

    Once you find a good speed, stick to the program until you can actually run the whole time at that speed without needing walk breaks. Once you're able to do that for a week, or two, then increase the speed incrementally. There will obviously come a time when you've reached your maximum, but that's likely quite long off, and by that time you'll be able to tell what is, or is not too fast for you.
    peachyfuzzle wrote: »
    3.8 - 4.0mph is not very fast, and is more of a brisk walk than a jog, so it isn't going to burn a lot of calories because it doesn't take that much effort to move your weight around at that speed. Walking/running speed is different for everyone because of gait, and stride length, but I think it's safe to consider 3.8-4.0mph to be a walk unless you are extremely short.

    Since you're going for a straight hour, what you probably should be doing is trying to increase your speed. Your heart needs to get used to working better under times of more exertion. I would suggest working toward a goal like maybe completing a 5k in under 35 minutes.

    Here's a treadmill c25k program:

    http://www.c25k.com/c25k_treadmill.html

    You're already getting past the 5k mark if you're going at least 3.8mph for a whole hour, so start out at week 1, and see how your jogs/runs feel at 4.5 mph. If that is too easy for you, then increase it to 5mph the next day you run, and so on until you find a speed where you actually do feel like you're exerting yourself by the end of the session. Just remember, the first few intervals might not make you feel as though you're exerting yourself at all, so don't automatically increase the speed after the first few minutes just because it's easy.

    Once you find a good speed, stick to the program until you can actually run the whole time at that speed without needing walk breaks. Once you're able to do that for a week, or two, then increase the speed incrementally. There will obviously come a time when you've reached your maximum, but that's likely quite long off, and by that time you'll be able to tell what is, or is not too fast for you.

    Thanks a lot! All you have a great responses!
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    A couple years ago I participated in a biggest loser contest at my office. It was winter so running outside wasn't an option but there were treadmills in a small fitness room in the basement. From day one I decided to run a 5k Monday-Friday. Three months later I was 28 pounds and crowned the winner of the contest. So, yes, treadmills are quite effective. My dietary changes probably played a bigger role in the weight loss but some quick number crunching suggests 7lbs could be attributed to the treadmill.

    Also I agree with peachyfuzzle that you should be trying to move faster. When I was 50lbs overweight and just starting my first 5k I was going at about 7.5mph (with a few walking breaks). A bit later on in the year I was able to hold down a pace of about 9.5mph for the whole 5k.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Running is a repetitive strain activity, so any running is going to put some strain on your knees. To minimise this, put the treadmill on an incline so there is less striking (jarring) of the heel.

    Calorie deficit is the most effective for weight loss. Running outdoors or on a treadmill is going to give you a cardio workout and give you more endurance.

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