Daily exercise of any form benefits us all in every aspect of life, including longevity. Walkers in the park or those who do treadmill workouts at home, have a lower incidence of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other killer diseases. They live longer and even gain mental health and spiritual benefits.
Research shows that adults who are physically active in their 50s and early 60s are about 35% less likely to die in the next eight years than those who are not active.
The right diet with regular exercise can reduce the risk of chronic illnesses in as quickly as six weeks. Skipping exercise for two days in a row reduces your body's effective use for insulin, and may increase the risk of obesity and diabetes. Make exercise a daily routine, even when you are on holiday.
Advantages of a home treadmill
Today's hectic lifestyles, with increased work load, and other commitments leave little time for exercise. But health is a priority. You will not be able to handle stressful situations unless you are prepared to sacrifice some time for health. If going to the gym is difficult in terms of time, consider purchasing a treadmill for home use.
A study published in the Journal of the American Association showed that treadmills easily outpaced an exercise bicycle, a rowing machine, and a cross country skiing machine. The study was conducted with a group of volunteers at the Milwaukee Veterans Administration Hospital who were made to do a series of workouts on different machines, each time exercising at the same intensity.
Dr. Martin Hoffman of the Medical College of Wisconsin found that "the treadmill allowed the individuals to burn as much as 200 calories per hour more than the bicycle ergo meter, which came out having the lowest energy expenditure."
If you normally walk, that would be what you will be doing on a treadmill. No other training is required. The best thing about working out with a treadmill is that you are in the comfort of your own home and you can read a book, even watch television while working out.
For those people who suffer from illnesses like osteoporosis, arthritis, back pain and other minor disabilities, a treadmill would be the best option, because you can adjust the incline, speed and intensity throughout, according to your requirement whilst walking on it. It can be used by any age group, young and old, and even pregnant women.
Treadmill walking like other types of walking improves heart function and circulation of oxygen -rich blood. Hence the name "cardiac" is given because of the cardiovascular benefits. Furthermore, it improves muscle tone, just not in your legs, but all over the body.
Tips on treadmill walking
- As your foot comes forward and your heel strikes the ground, raise your toes and roll forward onto the outside of your foot (but keep the entire shoe sole on the ground). As your foot passes under your body, straighten your knees and press the ground with the ball of your foot, maintaining pressure until your toes leave the ground. Do this for the entire duration of your run.
- Allow the hips to rotate naturally with the forward and backward movement of your legs. Meanwhile your shoulders should stay relaxed and facing forward.
- Let your arms swing at your sides in the same forward-backward direction as your hips and legs. As you increase your speed, bend your arms at a right angle and swing them faster in rhythm with your legs. (The above technique is from Elaine Ward of NARWF)
Some older people who have balance problems (vertigo) may need to support the hands on the side bar.
Make sure you have the proper running shoes with lots of support.
Over-exercising on a treadmill
Do not jog or run too strenuously on a treadmill. It damages your machine and can also put too much pressure on certain joints like the knee and ankle.
Adding jumping or hopping
on the treadmill
In addition to your walking or running on the treadmill you may add a few jumps or hops at intervals to change your workouts. Using one minute intervals of jumping during regular treadmill workout can reap benefits of increasing your heart rate and challenging new muscles.
You should first start slowly keeping your hands off the bars. It is better to start out very slow without grasping the machine than to go faster and cling on. Hop at a very slow speed for 15 seconds to get a feel for it. These exercises are not advised for the elderly.
Helping sleep
For those who suffer from insomnia a treadmill walk might be beneficial. You get more tired with the exercise and can sleep more soundly. For those who wake at midnight and cannot sleep further, a brief workout on the treadmill will make you feel tired and sleep well.
Affecting mood
Regular exercise and workout can help overcome feelings of depression or sadness, and changes of mood.
High intensity exercise
on treadmill
It has been known for some time that during high intensity workouts on a treadmill, the body burns more carbohydrates for fuel, as opposed to burning stored fat as it does during lower-intensity workouts. What's important is the total amount of calories burnt through fat or carbohydrates in the body. High intensity workouts bring down the blood sugar level, ideal for diabetics.
On a personal note, the writer is a severe diabetic (type 2), needing daily insulin who now controls his diabetes with low Glycaemic foods (GI) and regular workouts on the treadmill with no medication. My advice to diabetics is never touch rice, bread or any food cooked with rice flour and wheat flour. Eat plenty of dark green leaves in the salad form with dressing. Eat plenty of fish and white meat, and you will surprise yourself with your glucometer blood sugar reading.
When you eat socially at parties eat everything except the above starches. When you get used to such low GI diets, you are a winner. Try from tonight.
Remember to check with your family physician before you venture on an exercise regime. Good luck. |
E-mail