Exercise guidelines As with anything else in life, you get the most enjoyment and benefit out of the activities that you perform properly. Treadmill exercise is no exception. According to the American College of Sports Medicine:
•Before you get on the treadmill, make sure you know how to work all the controls, such as speeding up, slowing down, changing the incline and emergency off. •Use correct posture when walking, with shoulders back, head and chin up and slightly forward, and tighten your abdominal muscles. Look forward, not down. •Use the same stride you normally use when walking. •Stay in position - don't go off to the side or the back. •Try to use your treadmill at the same time of day for a certain amount of minutes and make it part of your daily routine.
Thursday August 27: As mentioned, I had a mini-illness on Thursday. Woke up with headache and nausea. Took two ibuprofen and later took three aspirin. Nausea caused a lack of appetite. I got lightheaded from not eating but by early evening the nausea had run its course and I was hungry with a capital H. I went on a feeding frenzy. I ate 3 creamsicles, a couple of nectarines, a banana, potato chips, fritos, a 2,5 oz bag of pretzels, a couple of chunks of ginger root.
The pretzels are interesting. I have heard people tout soda crackers for an upset stomach but that never worked for me. Pretzels work miracles for my stomach. They are similar in composition to soda crackers but they work better. The ginger root helped my nausea but not like the pretzels did. I made the decision to go off-diet to relieve the nausea. It succeeded and the feeding frenzy began.
Friday August 28: I started the eating with approximately 1.5 lb shrimp with butter. In the evening I ate 3 pork chops. I took 6 tbsp. proprietary arginine mix around midnight and ate 4 hardboiled eggs at around 2 AM.
Saturday August 29: I took 6 tbsp. proprietary arginine mix in early afternoon. I ate 24 oz. of beef franks at 5PM. I ate 3/4 Cornish Hen at 11PM.
Sunday August 30: 6 tbsp. proprietary arginine mix before going to the gym. I ate 3 pork chops at 5PM. I ate 2 more pork chops with a micro salad at 10:30PM. At 2AM I ate approximately .5 lb. shrimp with butter and a handful of pecans.
Monday August 31: Ate two porks chops around 12:30PM. I ate approximately 1 oz. whole sunflower seeds from 2PM to 3PM. I consumed 6 tbsp. proprietary arginine mix at 5PM. I ate three chicken thighs at 8:30. Maybe another oz. whole sunflower seeds from 11Pm to midnight.
Are excuses holding you back from getting into shape? Are you too busy with work and family? Is the weather a problem? Treadmill exercise may be just the thing that wipes out your excuses and puts you on the road to good health and fitness.
With a treadmill, even excuses about being uncoordinated fly out of the window because the only sporty skill you need is something you already do all day long -- walk. The weather isn't a problem and neither is boredom. Place your treadmill in your home, perhaps in front of the television or a picture window, and put on those walking shoes.
What is treadmill exercise? A treadmill is a machine that essentially allows you to walk or jog "in place." One of the best reasons to take your walking program inside is because on a treadmill you can maintain the pace of your stride easily. Plus, you can get the benefits of aerobic exercise without leaving your home.
Advantages of treadmill exercise While there are many indoor exercise machines on the market, few compare to treadmills when it comes to health benefits and burning calories, an essential part of losing weight and getting in shape. In one study, treadmills easily outpaced an exercise bicycle, a rowing machine and a cross-country skiing machine.
A group of volunteers at the Milwaukee Veterans Administration Hospital did a series of workouts on different machines, each time exercising at what felt like the same intensity. Researchers used a special device to measure the number of calories burned. The treadmill allowed the individuals to burn up to 200 calories per hour more than the bicycle ergometer, which had the lowest energy expenditure, said the researchers.
The average medium-intensity treadmill workout burned 700 calories per hour, compared to just 500 calories per hour on the exercise bike. One reason for the difference is the amount of muscle mass that is used in both exercises.
Burning calories is a great benefit of treadmill exercise, but it's not the only reason to consider this type of workout. Walking is an excellent form of exercise for people with certain health conditions, such as osteoporosis, hypertension and back pain. For these, as well as those of us who aren't crazy about going to a gym, the flexibility of a treadmill can be very exciting. Further, a treadmill adds consistency to your walking workout because many models allow you to maintain speed and intensity throughout your entire workout.
According to research conducted by the Harvard Medical School, walking 45 minutes five times a week can cut your chances of getting a flu or cold in half.
Also, while some aerobic activities can be risky during pregnancy, walking has many benefits. Hormonal changes caused by pregnancy can loosen ligaments. Walking helps to tone muscles and strengthen joints that support a growing baby.
Treadmills have numerous features that allow you, for instance, to change the MPH or elevate the grade. Further, most models have options to determine calories burned, time elapsed and distance traveled.
An adequate display panel allows you to keep track of workouts (e.g. time and MPH), which in turn allows you to easily monitor progress.
Finally, if you are just looking to get in shape, walking or jogging on a treadmill improves muscle tone all over your body. Strengthened muscles means the heart can pump more oxygen-rich blood with each step you take.
