5 EASY Ways A Treadmill Can Help You Lose Weight & Get In Shape!by Kathryn O'Neill

So why are treadmills the #1 home exercise machine choice among buyers? Well, here are five reasons treadmills come out on ahead of other exercise machines year after year. Here are the top 5 ways home treadmill workouts can help you lose weight and get in great shape!



Reason #1: A Treadmill is the PERFECT exercise machine for those who hate exercise!

We all know that in order to lose weight, get firm & fight gravity's pull, exercise is a must!

But what do you do if you don't LIKE working out?

What if your motto is "I don't exercise. If God meant us to touch our toes, He would have put them higher on our bodies."? 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)!

What about popping in your favorite CD and taking an invigorating power walk? You'll be burning a truckload of calories without even realizing you're sweating!

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 novel?

How easy is that?

Treadmills are perfect for those people who get bored easily or hate exercising because they allow you to do so many things WHILE using them. (for all of us multi-tasking queens and kings!)



Reason #2: A 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 used to (and that means less calories burned!)

A treadmill on the other hand gives you a LOT of workout versatility!

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. You can skip if you want to or build in fast-walk-slow-walk intervals. Many treadmills will let you walk uphill (which explodes the number calories burned!). 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 those calories!



Reason #3: A Treadmill Can Help You Burn MORE Calories by Increasing Your Exercise Time!

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.

I may be going out on a limb here but I suspect that 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 (which means more calories burned...)

Did you know that experts tell us that 2 x 15-minute workouts can give us the same exercise benefits as 1 x 30-minute workout?

And did you also know that the number one obstacle that keeps people from exercising is 'lack of time'? (that explains those gym study results above doesn' it?)

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?

Many of us just don't have the time to take 45 minutes to an hour to go to the gym every day. But most people can find 15 minutes during the day. Three of those mini-15-minute workouts and you've just done that 45 minutes!

And 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 Treadmill Gives You the Benefit of All-Year-Round ANY Time Exercise!

Ok, here it is: in my opinion 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 the definition of fun.

What about when it's raining? Scratch exercise off the list today! What about when it's late or really early and the gym isn't open? Forget about that workout today!

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 any time in any type of clothing you want (no worrying about wearing that ratty t-shirt to the gym!). Call me petty but this is a huge convenience!



Reason #5: By Using the Large Muscles of the Legs, A Treadmill Is 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 number ONE cardiovascular machine for losing weight and burning 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 increased by 50% over the past five years!

No matter which treadmill you choose, make sure it fits your needs and lifestyle. And ENJOY!

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