Treadmill question

moffee01
moffee01 Posts: 67 Member
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Would it be better to speed walk a 12 minute mile at no incline or to walk a 17 minute mile at a 7% incline? The calorie calculator here says I would burn about 50 more calories for going faster, but I feel I get a better workout with the incline cause I sweat way more!

Replies

  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
    Go with what makes you feel like you're working the hardest!
  • RisOnTheRun
    RisOnTheRun Posts: 624 Member
    Do both! Probably not the answer you're looking for, but I'd mix it up to keep your body guessing--do more of an incline on some days and more speed with less incline on others. Then when that starts to gets easier, increase the speed on your speed days and increase the incline on the incline days. If you're sweating more on the incline, that probably means you could go a little faster than a 12-minute mile on the speed days.
  • bunnysone
    bunnysone Posts: 486 Member
    DEFINATELY WITHOUT A DOUBT run with NO incline. The incline on a treadmill leads to poor form and back issues - one of the most common gym injuries. If you are walking then SHORT PERIODS on an incline is Ok, but you are better picking up the pace and jogging on the flat or better yet doing intervals of walking and running on the flat.
  • vetsnatural
    vetsnatural Posts: 186 Member
    DEFINATELY WITHOUT A DOUBT run with NO incline. The incline on a treadmill leads to poor form and back issues - one of the most common gym injuries. If you are walking then SHORT PERIODS on an incline is Ok, but you are better picking up the pace and jogging on the flat or better yet doing intervals of walking and running on the flat.

    I agree. Also understanding if your walking to burn fat or for overall fitness will tell you how much maximum effort and time to do.
  • lindsayleeneilson
    lindsayleeneilson Posts: 4
    I find it very hard to track and feel confindent that I'm tracking my treadmill exercizes correctly.. But here is what my trainer tells me:

    If you're going to be on the treadmill at one speed for a while, it's best to do a lower speed at a high incline vs. a higher speed at a low incline.

    Also, a really great way to burn fat on the treadmill (and not be on the darn thing ALL DAY) is to do circuits. For instance, I do teh following:

    walk for 30 seconds at speed of 3
    run for 30 seconds at speed of 8
    walk for 30 seconds at 3
    run for 30 seconds at 8.5
    walk for 30 seconds at 3
    run for 30 seconds at 9
    walk for 30 seconds at 3
    run for 30 seconds at 9.5

    I repeat this circuit for a total of 3 times. It really gets your heart pumping!! It's pretty quick and I see the best results. Only problem- it's almost impossible to track calories burned... Unless you have a heart rate monitor or whatever those things are that you can strap to yourself to monitor cals burned..

    Hope this helps..
  • Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet
    Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet Posts: 486
    I bet you that walking with an incline is "bad form" because people hold on to the rails for dear life and have a bad posture as a result of that.

    Whatever seems 'harder'. Switch it up back and forth!
  • moffee01
    moffee01 Posts: 67 Member
    Thank you for your help everyone. I think I'll just be switching back and forth. I do know Im not ready to be running yet so 12min mile is good for now. And I carry alot of weight in my butt and thighs so I think working those bigger leg muscles on an incline will help also. (I hope)

    Oh and I do not hold on to the handles at all. Thats a pet peeve of mine :-)
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