5 Easy Ways A Treadmill Helps You Lose Weight

by: Kathryn O'Neill, H.BSc. NWS

So why are treadmills STILL the #1 home exercise machines with shoppers? Because they get results! Here are the top 5 ways home treadmill workouts can help you lose weight and get into great shape! #1: A Treadmill Helps You Burn MORE Calories by Battling Exercise Boredom.   We all know that in order to lose weight, get firm and fight gravity's pull, exercise is a must! But what do you do if you don't LIKE working out? What if you get bored or don't like logging hours in the gym with all those muscle boys or short-shorts women? One viable option is the home treadmill, because of all the things it allows you to do to FORGET that you are exercising in the first place! You can set it up in front of the television and watch your favorite episode of ER or Oprah. An hour will fly by and you won't even notice that you've been walking (or running)! Many treadmills also come with a magazine or book rack. What about walking uphill (a MEGA calorie burner) while reading your favorite mazagine or novel? How easy is that? And the more you enjoy your workout (or the more you can forget that you're exercising) , the more time you'll spend burning calories on your treadmill. #2: The Treadmill is Unmatched For Workout Versatility.   Most funky fly-by-night exercise gadgets only allow you to do one thing. One repetitive motion that your body quickly adapts to (and that means less calories burned.) A treadmill - on the other hand - gives you a lot of workout versatility so your body continues to be challenged to burn calories. If you're just starting an exercise program you can start with a slow walk and then speed it up as your body gets into better shape. If you're training for a marathon, you can run at a steady pace and even build in sprints. You can power walk or do a slow steady jog. Many treadmills will let you walk uphill. Some even come with handweights so you can build in upper body exercise as well. There are countless ways you can vary your workout with a treadmill so that you continue to challenge your body and burn calories. #3: A Treadmill Helps You Burn MORE Calories by Increasing Your Exercise Frequency.   Did you know that a new 3 year study conducted by the University of Stanford's Graduate School of Business has found that consumers are overpaying for gym services? The study concludes that most people overestimate how often they will use their gym membership and that most don't visit the gym often enough to justify their membership costs. Perhaps the reason may be that many people just don't have the time to go. But here's where a home treadmill can help you actually increase your workout time and frequency. Did you know that experts tell us that two 15-minute workouts can give us the same exercise benefits as one 30-minute workout? Here's where a home treadmill can help: A treadmill allows you to split your workouts up into mini-workouts and still burn just as many calories! Maybe you want to go for a 15 minute wake-up walk in the morning. Maybe it's a 20-minute light jog at lunch. What about a 10-minute power walk just before dinner to curb your appetite or fight night-time boredom? Whether it's 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 or 20, it all adds up in weight loss. With a treadmill, YOU'RE in charge of your workout time. #4: A Home Treadmill Gives You the Benefit of All-Year-Round ANY Time Exercise! Ok, here it is - one of the MOST IMPORTANT benefits of having a home treadmill: CONVENIENCE, CONVENIENCE, CONVENIENCE If you live in northern climates you know that walking or jogging in the snow and ice is NOT fun. What about when it's raining? Scratch exercise off the list! A home treadmill can be one of the best exercise comforts around because you can use it regardless of the weather or time of day. AND you can also exercise in any type of clothing that you want (no worrying about wearing that ratty t-shirt to the gym!). #5: By Using the Large Muscles in Your Legs, A Treadmill Helps You Burn MAJOR FAT Calories A recent Woman's World article made the startling claim that, contrary to popular belief, gentle walking is one of the BEST ways to burn fat! Why? It seems that gentle walking allows your body to go STRAIGHT to the fat stores for energy instead of first depleting your sugar (glycogen) stores (used by your body for quick energy). Not only that, there's been countless studies including one by the American Medical Association, that rank a treadmill as the #1 cardiovascular machine for losing weight and burning calories. Working the larger muscles in your legs burns maximum calories which means more weight lost. You can even increase your calories-burned by walking uphill which uses even more muscles! Given all their benefits it's no wonder that treadmill sales have continued to skyrocket over the past five years with more and more people starting their own fitness and weight loss programs at home. So if you want to lose weight and get into great shape, a treadmill can be an excellent investment to help you to achieve your goals. No matter what you decide be sure to have fun and make your health a priority! ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kathryn O'Neill is the chief editor for Treadmill Review For more buying tips, treadmill brand reviews, and best buys visit http://www.treadmillreview.net