Despite the availability of enormous fitness equipment, the treadmill remains the favorite. It gives a person complete control of the training session. The benefits are ample, from reducing the impact to being a private and safe option. Treadmills have become part and parcel of everyday life, and for a good reason. It is not just a piece of regular exercise equipment but an opportunity to burn calories from the confines of your home.
Therefore, here’s a compilation of the top 10 benefits of using a treadmill.
1: Weight Loss
In recent years, the most notable change that humankind has gone through is the slow but steady eradication of manual labor.
Nowadays, machines and tools can do every kind of work with just a button push. Naturally, this lack of physical activity has given rise to weight gain and health issues.
Treadmills have been a great help in this sphere to lose weight. With this, anyone can improve their fitness level and their workout routine.
For instance, spending 30 minutes on a treadmill at a speed of 6 mph can lead to an average adult’s calorie burn of 400 to 600.
Not just that, these days, they come with an incline function that helps burn even more calories during workout sessions.
Another new exercise routine on a treadmill that has genuinely proven effective is the HIIT workouts. This is a sort of interval training that is repeated 8 to 10 times.
Here, the person does high-intensity rounds of cardio exercise for 10 to 30 seconds and follows it with an equally long period of rest.
2: Heart Health Benefits
Did you know that approximately 17.9 million people died of cardiovascular issues across the globe back in 2019? This number has been steeply rising since the beginning of the 21st century. And according to medical experts, one of the best ways to detect and control it is via daily exercise.
In terms of seeing cardiac issues, treadmill workouts have proven nonparallel. These days most hospitals and clinics use treadmills to induce stress while closely monitoring the patient’s vitals, especially in cases of high cholesterol.
This might sound scary, but it helps diagnose issues like coronary artery blockages.
Another benefit of using a treadmill for regular aerobic exercise is that it aids in proper blood flow and circulation. Its ability to protect the blood vessels and lower blood pressure makes it a perfect remedy for patients.
Moreover, running on a treadmill is also great for moderating cholesterol levels. It eradicates lousy cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein and increases good cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein among heart patients.
3: Good for Diabetic Patients
Aerobic exercises like walking on treadmill have always provided a fighting chance against chronic diseases. This includes diabetes, especially Mellitus Type 2.
According to experts, a combination of a healthy and restricted diet and regular exercise has proven greatly helpful in controlling and eliminating symptoms in diabetic patients.
For instance, imagine running on a treadmill for 20 minutes. The body would require its fair share of energy for the workout. In this case, it uses the glucose in the bloodstream secreted by the liver as fuel, thereby reducing the blood glucose level.
In most cases, this sort of exercise helps to reduce diabetes by almost 58%. Moreover, it also significantly decreases the need for medication over time.
Another condition that can be seen in both diabetic and non-diabetic people is insulin sensitivity. This is a condition where the body does not use insulin effectively. During such instances, using a treadmill has proven quite effective.
4: Improves Muscle Mass
Some people often feel that the treadmill is only suitable for weight loss and maintaining cardiovascular health, but there is more to it. It is excellent fitness equipment to build up and tone the muscles.
While running on a treadmill, there is a constant explosive contraction of different muscle groups. Simultaneously they also strive toward maintaining balance which eventually aids in shaping the calves, hamstrings, thighs, buttocks, shoulders, arm muscles, and abdominal muscles.
Apart from those mentioned above, treadmill workouts are a perfect way to improve the leg muscles. Continuous running or jogging induces more and more stress on the leg muscles, making them grow.
As for maximizing strength, different aerobic exercises like walking lunges, crab walks, and side shuffles can be tried out on the treadmill. Lastly, increasing the inclination and going for interval training with expert help should also do the trick.
5: Improves Bone Health
The human bones comprise tissues that are full of essential minerals. These minerals add much-needed strength to the bones, protecting them from wear and tear.
Rigorous exercise over time can increase the number of minerals and strengthen the bones against ailments like osteoporosis. Another benefit of regularly using a treadmill is it improves bone density.
6: Reduces Impact
Nowadays, many prefer going for morning and evening walks and runs instead of hitting the gym. While it is a wise decision, it has its fair share of disadvantages.
Imagine going on a run outdoors; with every step, there is a different kind of surface, some hard like pavements and some soft like dirt. Constantly planting a step on these uneven surfaces tends to have adverse effects like wear and tear of knee joints, ankle, etc.
Moreover, wrong rock footing can lead to back pains and hairline fractures. These might not seem severe but can be the root cause of long-lasting pains during old age.
This is where exercise machines like a treadmill come into play. It provides a smooth surface that cushions the blow every time the foot touches the belt, reducing the impact.
Benefits of Treadmill: 7 Mental Health Benefits
Embarking on a health journey does not only mean focusing on physical health but giving equal importance to mental health.
In recent years, quite a few studies have been conducted on patients suffering from depression.
And one of the integral outcomes spotted in physical activities like walking, running, and other aerobic exercises positively affects the patient’s mood.
Endorphins or happiness chemicals are released when a person spends approximately 30 minutes on the treadmill daily. The nervous system secretes these to lower depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.
It can also make the human brain more sensitive to norepinephrine and serotonin, significantly relieving depression and stress.
8: Improves Brain Function and Memory
Researchers from across the globe have concluded that after the age of 30, the brain’s ability to process thoughts and recall memories starts to degrade.
This happens due to the slow but steady diminish of brain cells and information-transmitting neurons. Therefore, learning new things take comparatively longer hours.
However, treadmills have shown themselves capable of battling these changes. Daily treadmill runs combined with different types of aerobic exercise can improve cardiovascular activities.
This, in turn, enhances the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain resulting in better brain tissues than people who don’t exercise.
In addition, it significantly slows the deterioration rate of brain parts like the temporal and frontal lobes. Such activities aid the hippocampus’s growth, the brain’s segment that controls memory and learning abilities.
Thus, regular walks or running on treadmills are suggested for patients with schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s.
9: Improves Sleep Quality
Next in the long list of benefits treadmills provide is it induces a good quality of sleep. One of the many activities of the cardiovascular system is encouraging the release of sleep hormones called melatonin, and this helps in causing an unhindered good night’s sleep.
For beginners, running on a treadmill helps burn the excess energy, a therapeutic process to induce sound sleep. In addition, the rise in body temperature during such physical activity also improves sleep quality at the end of the day.
Several studies have proven treadmill workouts are an effective alternative to medication for insomnia patients.
10: Enhanced Physical Exercise Routine
Lastly, using the treadmill allows for an enhanced exercise routine. Users can regulate this fitness equipment based on their daily needs and requirements.
For instance, some days demand a light workout while others don’t. With the help of a treadmill, it becomes straightforward to control it by regulating the speed and the inclination.
Moreover, its visual display helps monitor one’s daily progress, heart rate, blood pressure, and other details. This helps to avoid chances of over-exertion.
Checking out the online information and the brand reviews before picking the device is the best way to ensure suitability.
FAQs: Benefits of Treadmill
Is a Treadmill Run Well for Losing Belly Fat?
According to experts, jogging or running on a treadmill is the best way to lose lower body weight, especially belly fat. Moreover, it helps remove visceral fat permanently. All you need to do is keep up the runs daily even after you have achieved your fitness goals.
How Much Time Should Be Spent On A Treadmill?
For an average individual, spending 5 hours a week on a treadmill should be enough to achieve desired health benefits like losing or maintaining weight. As for beginners, it is advisable to spend 20 minutes a day on treadmill exercise.
Is It Reasonable to Use The Treadmill Every Day?
Engaging in walks and runs on a treadmill daily is a good idea as it can do wonders for bone density. Moreover, it can also improve heart health, mental health, and muscle mass over time.
Are Treadmills Good for Knees?
The treadmill belt comes with shock absorption properties. This helps to reduce the impact on knees and joints while planting the foot compared to roads and pavements where the surface is uneven.
What are The Side Effects of Using a Treadmill?
While using a treadmill is great for a workout session, it has a few side effects, especially for beginners. It includes muscle spasms, shortness of breath, aching knees, etc., which tend to fade with time.
Are Treadmill Workouts Good for Treating Heart Disease?
According to experts, treadmill workouts are perfect for treating heart disease. They are often called cardio exercises as they lower blood pressure and maintain a steady heart rate throughout the session.
Is it Better to Walk On a Treadmill or Run?
The choice entirely depends on the fitness goals. Running is better if the goal is to burn more calories and reduce weight. However, one can maintain a healthy weight by walking on a treadmill.
What is The Ideal Speed For a Treadmill?
Twelve kilometers per hour is a decent speed for a treadmill to help you lose weight. It will help in weight loss without straining the body.
