Just Recently Got One

[LUVTRISH]

I just recently bought a treadmill. Its a cheap one. I just want to know if it will help me lose weight, just doing the treadmill.. just walking on it..

thanks

[misskimbee]

I would challenge yourself on that treadmill. I find them to be boring when I walk, so here's what I do:

If it has an incline feature: let's say you are doing a 30 minute walk. Every 5 minutes, up the incline and do that incline for 4 minutes. Keep upping until you reach 20 minutes, then start going back down.

If there's no incline feature: set a minimum walk speed and maximum walk speed. Do the same thing you would as above, only instead, increase your walking speed, then slowly lower the speed.

Hope this helps!

[hunichi]

i think it's not enough to just walk on it. you have to walk with intensity, sometimes even run, to get good and speedy results.

i got that tip from another weightloss book (which isn't lowcarb, but the other tips help anyway), Making the Connection by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey, if I can recall. He calls it working in the "zone".

Supposedly, if you don't work within the zone, you're just burning calories depending on the length of time you put in. Working in the zone however not only burns calories, but also boosts your metabolism, making sure that your body also burns calories after you exercise.

Here's how to know if you're working in the zone (you'd like to strive for a level 7 or 8):

0 - this is the feeling you get at rest. There is no feeling of fatigue. Your breathing is not at all elevated. You will not experience this at all during exercise.

1 - This is the feeling you get working at your desk or reading. There is no feeling of fatigue. Your breathing is not elevated.

2 - This is the feeling you might get while getting dressed. There is little or no feeling of fatigue. Your breathing is not elevated. You will rarely experience this low level while exercising.

3 - This is the feeling you might get while slowly walking across the room to turn on the television. There is little feeling of fatigue. You may be slightly aware of your breathing, but it is slow and natural. You may experience this right in the beginning of an exercise session.

4 - This is the feeling you might get while slowly walking outside. There is a very slight feeling of fatigue. Your breathing is slightly elevated but comfortable. You should experience this level during the initial stages of your warm-up.

5. This is the feeling you might get while walking briskly to the store. There is a slight feeling of fatigue. You are aware of your breathing and it is deeper than in level 4. You should experience this level at the end of your warm-up.

6 - This is the feeling you might get when you are walking somewhere and are very late for an appointment. There is a general feeling of fatigue, but you know that you can maintain this level. Your breathing is somewhat deep and you are aware of it. You should experience this level in the transition from your warm-up to your exercise session and during the initial phase of learning how to work at level 7 or 8.

7 - This is the feeling you might get when you are exercising vigorously (in my case, doing taebo hehe). There is a definite feeling of fatigue, but you know you can maintain this level for the rest of your exercise session. Your brething is deep and you are definitely aware of it. You can carry on a conversation, but you would probably prefer not to. This is the baseline level of exercise that you will maintain in your exercise ssions.

8 - this is the feeling you might get when you are exercising very vigorously. There is a very definite feeling of fatigue, and if you asked yourself if you could continue for the remainder of your exercise session, you think you could, but are not 100 percent sure. Your breathing is very deep, you can still carry on a conversation, but you don't feel like it. This becomes the feeling you should experience only when you are comfortable reaching a level seven and are ready for a more intense workout. This is the level that produces rapid results, but you must learn how to maintain it. Exercising at this level is difficult for many people.

9 - This is a feeling that you would experience if you're exercising very very vigorously. A level that most athletes train at and it is difficult for them. You would experience a very definite feeling of fatigue and if you asked yourself if you could continue for the remainder of your exercise session, you probably could not. Your breathing is very labored and it would be very difficult to carry on a conversation.

10 - you should not experience this. this is the feeling you would experience with an all-out exercise. Not sustainable, and no benefit in reaching it.

i know it's quite long, and the lines between some levels are blurry, but i've found it quite helpful in making sure that i up the ante. hope this helps :D

[drina39]

Hunichi is right ! I love my treadmill, but I really work up a sweat on it. Take it easy at first, and work your way up. Listening to music, or watching tv while you are on it, really helps it from becoming boring :thup:

[LUVTRISH]

Thanks... thanks for that tip hunichi..

Im only been doing it for 15 minutes coz i get tired and couldn't catch my breath. And my whole apartemnt shakes everytime i run.. i have to walk.. urghhg

[hunichi]

no problem :) that's what this forum is for anyway :D

as for the 15-minute workout, try to gradually increase both the length of time you spend exercising, as well as the effort you exert. sooner or later, you're going to be comfortable at 15-20 minute workouts, and you'll find you won't tire/sweat as much. that just means you try and push yourself a little further, but not to the point of all-out exhaustion. that's just if you want speedier results... plus it makes you feel good too, right after :D (btw, don't forget to stretch/warm-up. it really helps, although at first it makes you feel like you look stupid hehehe)

on your apartment shaking...i have the same problem. i used to find it really embarassing (and sometimes I still do) that the whole house can hear me thumping away when I do tae-bo or some other aerobic work-out, or hear the treadmill whirr. for some weird reason, i don't want other people to know i'm trying to get the pounds off, especially since i've always been saying "it doesn't matter and shouldn't matter". but you just have to keep on doing it and let them (and yourself) get used to it. now i tell them openly i'm going to exercise, and for them not to bother me while i'm at it. yesterday, one of our helpers saw me doing tae-bo, and while i laughed nervously (because i felt i looked stupid) halfway through, eventually i just stopped minding her. shaking the apartment isn't necessarily a bad thing. just make sure not to rouse too many people up hehe. :D

hope that helps! take care!