Monday, March 9, 2009

The Benefits of Using Treadmills

By Richard Brixley

Many exercise lovers (and the rest of us who simply do exercise because we know we have to!) will advocate the benefits of using a treadmill as part of a fitness regime. These machines are designed to give low impact exercise and, as such, can suit just about anybody who wants to get fitter.

A treadmill is kind of like an exercise conveyor belt. With a manual treadmill the belt moves when you walk or run on it. A motorized treadmill runs the belt for you. In both cases you stand on the machine, get the belt moving and then walk, jog or run to get the exercise you need. You can set the controls on most motorized treadmills to cope with your own fitness levels and they can be used at home as well as in a gym or fitness center which makes them potentially even more useful.

The treadmill that you use in the gym may be larger and have more settings than the one you use at home but home versions are also real useful. At the very least this gives you access to an exercise machine that you can use when you like in the comfort of your own home. Many home treadmills are often foldable so they do not need to take up much space at all and can be stored out of sight if you prefer.

Treadmills are also popular for use at home as they can be used while you do other things. So, using this kind of exercise machine does not have to eat into your free time too much. Many people, for example, will have a session on their treadmill whilst they are watching TV.

Experts have long championed the benefits of walking and running from an exercise perspective and using a treadmill can give you all of the associated benefits. The big plus here is that you can take your exercise safely at home or at the gym at any time and in any kind of weather.

Using a treadmill can give your body an excellent cardio-vascular workout and can help you to improve your own overall fitness levels. These machines are also a good way of increasing your endurance. With a motorized treadmill you can change the belt speed, slope and/or resistance and with a manual treadmill you can simply run faster or stay on the machine for longer periods.

Treadmills are also great exercise options for beginners. You can use these machines to get a gentle start to your fitness program and can increase your work rate as your fitness levels increase. Most machines here will also give you shock absorption protection (often known as low impact) which can help protect your body against sprains and strains.

And, more advanced treadmills can help the experienced exerciser as they can be customized to show useful fitness information. So, for example, you could use your machine to measure your heart rate to make sure that you are working out hard enough or to assess how many calories your workout is burning off for you.

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