19 Feb Is it OK to walk on an incline on my treadmill?
3G Cardio discusses walking on an incline on your treadmill
It most certainly is good for someone to walk or run on an incline when using a treadmill. Walking on a treadmill at zero incline is different than normal walking. If you walk on an incline on my treadmill, a user pulls their legs forward to some degree, as opposed to walking outside in which a person has to push off their feet more to propel themselves forward. Although the difference between walking on a treadmill and walking outside is minimal, there is still a difference in the muscular activity. Outside walking will activate the calves more and walking on a treadmill will activate hip flexors, lower abdominal and quadriceps more.
By setting your treadmill even at a slight incline of 2.0, it can make walking very similar to natural outdoor conditions. It will also allow a user to get a better workout and changing between a 0% incline and 2% or more incline will add even more variety.
Many people get a great working by walking on a treadmill and the key is that they ramp up the incline to 2,0, 3.0, 4.0 or higher. Home treadmills often go up to a 10.0 incline, while commercial models can go up to 15.0.
For people who can’t run due to ankle, knee, hip or other issues, putting the treadmill on an incline is an excellent way to increase the exertion and number of calories burned.
Exercising on an inclined treadmill over time can help strengthen and tone leg muscles and improve cardio function. Many treadmill consoles measure METs (another name for metabolic equivalent; a measure of exercise intensity based on oxygen consumption. More specifically, a single MET is defined as the amount of oxygen a person consumes – or the energy expended – per unit of body weight during 1 minute of rest).
Increasing the incline can significantly increase the METs exerted and calories burned off during a workout. For example, a person who weighs 160 pounds and walks at a 4.0 mph pace with no incline will burn approximately 145 calories in 30 minutes. By raising the incline to a 5.0 grade and the same person will burn 243 calories in that half hour. Move up to a challenging 10 percent and burn 345 calories.
Walk on an incline on my treadmill?
Practice safety first and increase the incline slowly. Don’t move up to a higher incline until you’re confident with the grade you’re at. Consult a doctor before beginning a new workout regime.
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