A great treadmill prescription
Does anyone know a good pace to walk on a treadmill, what incline to be in and for how long per day? I walked today at 2.0-3.0 for 35 minutes at 3.5 incline. Is this going to do any good for me? Faster, slower, more time? Just wondering, newbie and looking for answers from pro's, thanks for the help!
Eevee
You asked about a good pace to walk on the treadmill. I assume your desire is to work in the aerobic zone and burn fat. I am a big believer in utilizing a heart rate monitor to make sure you are working in an aerobic zone that will elicit progress for you.
In working with a heart rate monitor you first want to calculate a training zone using the karvonen method of monitoring your heart rate. The aerobic zone is between 60%-75%. (Varies with current fitness level; yet this is a good baseline) Thus if I were to do mine using my age, it would look like this:
Example of mine’s: 206.9 - (0.67 x (42 my age)) = 178.76(max hr) – 54 (my resting heart rate) = 124.76
Thus, 124.76 x 60%= 74.85+54 (resting heart rate) = 128.4 (Low end of aerobic zone)
124.76 x 75% =112.28 +54 (resting heart rate) = 147.57 (High end of zone)
Having programmed many on a treadmill protocol, I would encourage you to stay between a 3.0-4.0 mph. speed, and progress by increasing the incline. Plug in those numbers you see above using your age, and the key is staying in that zone. It’s best to take your heart rate first thing in the morning.
I’m a big believer in treadmill walking especially increasing intensity by upping the incline. The sky is the limit in terms of the conditioning you can obtain. By increasing the incline, you force your body to adapt in its ability to absorb oxygen within your muscle cells. Your body’s capacity to use fat for fuel and burn calories is contingent on this factor.
I’m glad you included the numbers you performed recently. Calculating the oxygen capacity you gave I determined you could begin at a 4% incline at 3 mph. You can do it for 30 minutes. I doubt if you’ll go above the zone I prescribed or labor too hard in your breathing. However, if that should occur, straddle your legs to the side for 30 seconds to 1 minute at a time and resume. I would walk 30 minutes three days a week for the first two weeks. Take it up to 4 days the next two; and take it up to 5 days for two more weeks.
Your incline can go from 4% at 3 mph the first two weeks; 5% at 3 mph the next two; and 6% at 3 mph the final two weeks. I assure you, if you are getting enough rest and your body is being refueled with the proper nutrients, you’ll be able to do 5 days for 30 minutes at the protocol I mentioned for the last two weeks. It’s all about progression.
If your heart rate should go above the protocol zone in the latter weeks and you feel good and strong, go with it. That means your body is absorbing enough oxygen to burn fat as fuel to accomplish the activity. That’s a good sign of progress.
I encourage your success.
GetFitn6
