5 Ways A Treadmill Helps You Lose Weight

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 HUGE calorie burner) while reading the latest edition of Woman's World? Or Time? Or your favorite John Grisham 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 on that treadmill to burn those calories

Reason #2: The Treadmill is Unmatched For Workout Versatility!

Most funky fly-by-night exercise gadgets out there only allow you to do one thing. One repetitive motion that your body will quickly get proficient at (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 will even let you walk downhill (a great way to cross-train).

Some treadmills come with handweights to incorporate into your workout. (Building muscle WHILE burning calories is a double weight loss whammy!)

There are countless ways you can vary your workout with a treadmill so that you continue to challenge your body and burn calories.

Reason #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?

Remember, 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.

Reason #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 is:

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.

How many times have we gained some unwanted winter weight and then exercised like crazy when the weather turned fair, trying to get it off? What a pain!

With a treadmill you can look great all year round because you're not missing those winter workouts!

AND you can also exercise at any time in any type of clothing you want (no worrying about wearing that ratty t-shirt to the gym!).

Reason #5: By Using the Large Muscles of the 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 larger muscles burns a larger amount of calories. By using the large muscles in your legs, you burn the maximum amount of calories. 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 rise over the past five years with more and more people starting their own fitness/weight loss programs at home.

And with the advent of treadmill wholesalers on the Internet like Smooth Fitness and Workout Warehouse, people can access both a broader selection of treadmills and save hundreds of dollars on treadmills, sales tax and shipping costs.

So those are 5 Ways or reasons treadmill exercise can help you lose weight and burn fat. Good luck and have fun!

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