Certain athletes run outdoors in the winter. Of course, we respect them a lot, but as for ourselves, we are not capable of such feat. Therefore, our main “tool” for running in the cold season is a treadmill. You can exercise in a warm comfortable room and even watch TV.
Why run with a runners club: expert opinion
Like any kind of training, treadmill has its specifics. We askedfitness trainer at BodyArt fitness, Aleksandr Osypenko to tell us more about them.
Aleks, please tell us first, what is the difference between treadmill running and running outdoors?
First of all, a good treadmill has a cushioning system, while running on asphalt results in greater impact forces exerted on your spine and joints. There are even different running shoes specifically for running on a treadmill and on other surfaces (asphalt, soil, running track surfaces). Also, running on the treadmill is slightly easier, because it pulls up by itself thus doing your work for you. Many athletes set up 2 or 3 treadmill incline to have the same effect as when running outdoors. Another thing is the burning of oxygen, outdoors your body takes in much more of it than in the gym room. But this may be compensated by having a good ventilation system and open windows in the gym.
How do I choose the right treadmill speed and monitor the heart rate? Since modern treadmills are packed with so many additional functions. How do I understand them?
To be honest, this is more about marketing tricks than adding important features. When running, you need to focus on your feelings in the first place. But, if you need figures, a normal heart rate while running is 120-130 beats per minute. For more fit people, this figure may be 140. Speed is selected on the basis of your heart rate. You increase speed until you reach your target heart rate, and then continue running at this speed.
On the other hand, it is also important to raise the bar. I always say that if you feel comfortable during exercising, then it’s time to increase the load. Otherwise, your body quickly adapts and workouts become no longer as effective as before. They are still good for health, but they stop bringing good weight loss or muscle growth results.
And how do I make exercising on a treadmill more effective?
The best thing to do is to speed up. And if you are fit enough, you can add good incline. This is called an interval training, and it is much more effective than monotonous running with the same speed. Beginners may simple increase the incline. It makes exercising harder and switches the load to back thighs. It is especially good for ladies, because all necessary leg muscles (buttocks and hips) are well-engaged while the front of the thighs is not engaged much (legs do not become big).
Does it mean that we need to alternate the exercise load?
Yes. You can do incline running for 5 minutes or so, and set the treadmill to its normal position. Training should be an interval training with different types of load. The greatest challenge is that our body adapts to the load. There is a popular erroneous thinking that if you feel comfortable during your training then it’s good for you. In fact, the opposite is true; if you feel comfortable, then you underperform.
Suppose I can run an hour at a certain pace and I feel comfortable, it’s hard for me, but I can keep going. If I will be running like this for a week, will it bring any result, apart from being beneficial for overall health?
As far as it’s hard for you, but you can keep going – it will bring result. And when it becomes easy (and this will happen), then it won’t be effective any longer. It will be great for overall health, like morning exercising, but it will be useless for muscle growth and weight loss. It is a very tricky thing. If you do 1-hour running for a year, your body gets used to it over time and it spends much less energy and calories to perform the same amount of work.
The point is that when your routine is hard for you, your body needs to recover after a workout, and it spends a lot of energy to recover. And this is when we lose weight. So when we workout in our comfort zone, our body does not need to recover and therefore no fat burning of additional calories happens.
Apart from running, what other exercising can I do using a treadmill? Are there any special workout complexes?
Apart from running and walking, there is nothing else you can do on a treadmill. You can change speed, incline, this will increase the training effect. You can also run with some weights added (ankle weights and dumbbells). By the way, running with dumbbells helps to shred and shape arms. You can also combine running with dumbbell exercises, engage biceps, but such routine is suitable for advanced runners.
Does treadmill running help lose weight?
I always say that the result depends on the amount of work you do. If your workout ends with only one tiny drop of sweat dripping of your face, then there will be no result. And if you trained with proper speeding and been feeling out of breath (which is essential), then yes, running will help you lose weight. The most effective type of running for weight loss is interval running, and at the end of the running session you should not just feel tiredness but have your legs sinking under you.
Are there any contraindications to exercise on a treadmill?
Your knees are the most vulnerable during running, and it doesn’t matter whether you have healthy or problem knees. Sooner or later, with regular exercising you will start feeling pain and discomfort. To protect your joints, special attention should be given to proper running form and run only in special shoes. Flat running shoes are not suitable for running, instead use special shock absorbing running shoes. In general, this is the only problem with the running. AS for other contraindications, they are the same as for any other type of sports: heart conditions, high blood pressure, tachycardia. But, running with proper form and at a comfortable pace, almost same as swimming in a pool, has no contraindications.
Source: hochu.ua.
