We decide to buy a piece of equipment based on certain requirements. In such instances, when we decide to go for a treadmill, it remains essential that we have prior knowledge about the machine’s advantages and disadvantages on the human body.
To be frank, the positives outweigh the negatives. When we say disadvantages, it is mostly when suffering from joint/knee problems.
Cardio workouts are essential to staying healthy, and working out on the treadmill ensures that we get our daily share of cardio exercise.
What Are the Benefits of Walking on the Treadmill Every Day?
As mentioned previously, using a treadmill has a plethora of advantages that make the downsides seem negligible.
The running deck’s design of any treadmill suits the exercising needs of athletes and normal individuals.
Athletes prefer to work out on any machine that helps them achieve an intense workout session. Elderly people also make use of the treadmill for low-intensity workouts.
Hence, the machine must have suitable provisioning for all! Treadmills are designed to support the exercising needs of various kinds of individuals.
Generally, using the treadmill to walk for around 30 minutes can help lose up to 200 calories. Such numbers are encouraging for those making use of the machine to lose weight.
What Does the Treadmill Do for Your Body When Running?
As compared to walking, running on the treadmill helps reap greater benefits. Let’s talk with numbers—running on a treadmill for around 30 minutes a day helps lose up to 400 calories, according to fitness experts.
Such numbers are highly motivating as the calories burned are twice the amount spent while walking. Running has multiple advantages, such as improved heart health, strengthened muscles, better cardiac capacity, and smooth blood flow.
Treadmill Benefits for the Whole Body
Tone up the muscles in the body and increase overall body strength by running or walking on the treadmill. Additionally, running also helps reduce belly fat, increase muscle strength, and lead to improved muscle development.
Treadmill Benefits for Legs
Be it running, walking, or jogging, our legs train hard, providing a good workout to the lower part of the body. Inclining further ups the challenge helps in boosting the leg’s muscle strength and burns additional calories. It is also possible to improve the arm’s muscle strength by holding some weights on the hand.
Treadmill Benefits for Your Cardio Health
Running or walking on any piece of gym equipment improves heart health as the cardio output is increased. By this, the blood pressure also comes under control. Moreover, routine exercising involving running and walking keeps cholesterol levels under control.
Generally, cardio exercises are popular for controlling cholesterol levels which in turn control blood pressure levels. As most treadmills come with heart rate sensors, it is possible to easily detect the body’s cardio rate and monitor heart health.
Are Treadmills Good for Losing Weight?
For most individuals, the primary purpose of setting up a home gym is to burn calories and lose weight.
In such cases, making use of a treadmill provides profound advantages as it is one of the best pieces of cardio equipment for weight loss.
Use the treadmill to run and be sure of shedding away 400 calories of body weight in well under 30 minutes. When using an incline, it is possible to lose up to 500 calories at the same time.
Such inclinations make it challenging to work out and keep the workout session interesting, breaking the monotony.
A word of caution here—don’t compensate for the calories lost on the treadmill by including extra calories in the food that’s consumed.
Staying on a healthy diet and regularly performing the workout routine is a good way to shed excess calories, become slim, and get fitter.
Is the Treadmill Good for Losing Belly Fat?
For most individuals, getting rid of body fat is the hardest of all! Running on any fitness machine helps burn body fat and convert it to energy.
Glycogen (from the fat) is converted into glucose, and this glucose is converted into calories.
When this process happens, the body starts losing belly fat, and the stomach gets toned.
For overweight or obese individuals, purchasing a sturdy piece of a treadmill is recommended to avoid easy wear and tear of the machine.
Side Effects of Using a Treadmill
While there are ample advantages in making use of a treadmill for fitness, one must also accept that this piece of equipment, like many others, has some negative impacts.
The treadmill might seem to have more disadvantages as there is more impact when using it. So, it’s in our hands to make sure that we don’t worsen the negative effects.
Let’s discuss the negative side effects of using a treadmill.
Sore Joints: Running on the road or on a treadmill can result in sore joints. The machine has a heavy impact on the knees, even more, when running.
Hence, making use of a treadmill can result in knee problems or worsen the existing joint pain.
Such side effects are felt even more by individuals who have undergone knee surgery or suffer from constant weakness in the knee.
Leg Cramp: Treadmills can lead to leg cramp, a muscle spasm condition that could lead to pain and stiffness.
During such experiences, it is better to take a break until the pain clears away. Though we are not aware of the exact reason for this, one thing is clear—the experience is painful!
On the brighter side, though this doesn’t occur frequently, the effects are bad when it occurs.
Shortness of Breath: For those exercising for the first time or who have just started, running for a longer period at a higher speed might lead to breathing difficulties that you might need to pause the workout.
Sometimes, individuals tend to overdo the exercise. Termed as dyspnea, this can harm the body.
Back pain: With the handrails in place, many individuals tend to hold on to it, lean forward, or run fast without maintaining a proper form or posture.
Such inappropriate actions can lead to back pain either during the exercise session or later also.
In some cases, it can lead to stiffening of the back while getting up in the morning. Back pain after using a treadmill is a common side effect.
Dizziness: For those suffering from low blood pressure or vertigo, dizziness is a common side effect.
Some people experience sudden dizziness while getting onto or off the machine, without any reason behind it.
When such is the case, it is better to pause the workout session failing which you might feel uncomfortable.
For those experiencing a dizzy feeling frequently, it is better to consult a doctor who might be able to explain the reason behind it.
Cardiac Arrest: There are high probabilities for a cardiac arrest or a heart attack in individuals who are at a higher risk of these.
So, in the case of elderly people and those with a medical condition, it is advisable to consult a physician to check whether it is ok to exercise on the machine before starting to exercise.
A dangerous side effect, a cardiac arrest does happen due to which most gyms now have resuscitation devices in place to help individuals who might need it.
Accidents: An accident is not a side effect, but the chances of this happening are higher.
Sometimes, fatalities do occur when accidents occur on the treadmill. To avoid this, most machines come with an emergency stop key that halts the treadmill immediately when pressed.
Take care to never allow kids near the machine as a treadmill is a dangerous piece of equipment that can move very fast.
What Parts of Your Body Will Improve by Exercising on a Treadmill?
Exercising is a good activity that helps us benefit in numerous ways. Doing physical activity regularly benefits the body physically and brings about various mental health benefits, both of which improve tremendously as we exercise.
We even have doctors who feel that this would be the most prescribed medical pill if exercising could be prescribed as a pill. Maybe, it could even be termed as a miracle cure.
Our body benefits from making use of a treadmill regularly. The major advantages include:
- In any case, lesser pressure is imposed on the joints and knees than running outside.
- Helps in higher calorie-burning abilities, thereby resulting in weight loss and weight management
- Reduces risk of mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and stress
- Increases motivation which in turn improves performance in individuals
- Decreases high blood pressure levels
- Enhances the heart health and leads to improved cardiovascular system
- It builds muscle mass and helps in maintaining it
- Reduces the probability of osteoporosis as bone density levels are increased
- Controls blood sugar levels
- This leads to improved sleep levels, which improve energy levels in the body.
- It gives an overall boost to the immune system, which protects the body from succumbing to ailments.
Aren’t these positive effects a motivational boost to start exercising routinely?
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that it is essential to perform between 75 and 150 minutes of exercise every week to stay fit.
So, walking for 30 minutes thrice a week is good enough to stay healthy and flexible. Using an inclination to walk, run, or jog on the treadmill seems challenging, but many advantages.
Try building up the stamina slowly, and in due course, the body would be well-equipped to handle up to 30 minutes of running on the treadmill.
Read Also: