Benefits of running on a Treadmill! Running or Jogging, which is better?

A workout is necessary for managing body fitness and weight loss. Due to the busy schedule and constraints of individuals, going to the gym or park is not always possible. In such a case, running on the treadmill at home can prove to be a great option. There are several benefits of running on a treadmill ranging from heart health to mental fitness.

Benefits of Running on a Treadmill

#1 Burns your calories faster!

The basic formula to maintain fitness is to burn as many calories as possible. So, the idea is to absorb the proteins from our food but burn the accumulated fat which, otherwise, would cause weight gain. 

Although the body burns a lot of calories in daily tasks and internal metabolic activities, but to burn the remaining calories, you need to exercise daily. Statistically, even 20 to30 minutes jogging on a treadmill every day, can burn calories in handsome quantity.

#2 Jogging on a treadmill benefits your heart!

Running or jogging on a treadmill can be very beneficial for your heart health, increasing blood circulation in the body while doing such workouts, which reduces the risk of heart-related diseases. 

Besides, jogging for 20 to 30 minutes, every day reduces even the most severe cholesterol deposits in the body, preventing cardiovascular diseases. New treadmills also have builtin heart sensors, which tells your heart rate in real-time. Importantly, it helps you keep an eye on the health of the heart.

Running cardio workout treadmill benefits

A cardio workout [1] on a treadmill increases your heart pump the blood faster. Benefits? More oxygen is delivered throughout your body, making your heart and lungs healthy!

Running or jogging on a treadmill, which is better?

Jogging or running on a treadmill depends on what you are trying to achieve. Running – a type of aerobic exercise requires more strain on the heart, lungs and muscles. On the contrary, jogging is slower than running and less hard on your body. A pace of 4 to 6 mph on a treadmill is enough for jogging activity on a treadmill.

#3 Treadmill advantages in muscle building 

Treadmill fulfils the aspiration to look fit and healthy in a shorter time. As muscles have a mandatory role in getting good body shape, the treadmill can help you in building muscles. 

#4 Running on a treadmill helps build stamina

Running is a great cardio exercise in itself, which makes the stamina better. Low-intensity cardio training on the treadmill at 50–70 per cent of your maximum heart rate for 10–60 minutes, will increase your strength. Working out on a treadmill every day develops the muscles of your – legs, stomach and arms.

#5 Treadmill helps maintain body flexibility

Nowadays, the problems of joint pain have increased significantly in people at the age of 35 to 40. Under this scenario, exercise on the treadmill is very beneficial to avoid this kind of pain and make the joints powerful. Again, running on a treadmill like the stair climbing, benefits in increasing the flexibility of your body parts and strengthening of bones, thus keeping your joints, especially knees, healthy for a long time.

What muscles do treadmills work?

The muscles that treadmills mainly work are the lower body -quadriceps, hamstrings, the calves and the glutes and the cardiovascular system. Unlike hand weights which work on building biceps, treadmills help in building thighs muscles. Strength training or muscle exercises in treadmills affects quads, glutes and hamstrings.

Is running on a treadmill ‘everyday’ bad for you?

It depends! In healthy limits, experts recommend a daily treadmill session for 30 minutes per day spanning across 5-days a week. But, running on a treadmill every day is good or bad depends upon the condition of the body and age. So, while people in their 20s have increased ability to take stress on the joints, men in 40s should restrain from stretching it beyond limits. In all cases, you should not do the treadmill for more than two and a half hours a week.

#6 Running on a treadmill lowers anxiety

Treadmill exercises make you healthier and happier? Yes! In fact, by running on a treadmill every day, your brain functions much better. In fact, during the running or jogging, the brain releases a particular type of happy hormone called endorphins. The release of this hormone improves your mood and reduces stress. Treadmill exercise activity effect, in this way, produces similar results to stress releasing yoga asanas.

Cautions while running on a treadmill

If there are benefits of running on a treadmill, it comes with some cons too! So, whether you have got a treadmill below 300 dollars or any higher segment fancy equipment, it is also very essential to take some precautions during the workouts.

1. Never run barefoot on a treadmill!

Due to friction and fast movement, a lot of heat generates on a treadmill. Therefore, if you run at the trade mill without shoes, your feet may get irritation. If the foot can accidentally slip on the edges of the belt, serious injury can also occur. Apart from this, there is also a risk of fungus and bacteria. Therefore, one should run on the treadmill only by wearing fitting shoes.

2. Set your feet on deck first!

Whenever you start a trade mill, its initial speed is low. Its matter was that what was its speed was before the session end. Due to this feature in the machine, the sudden rotation of the belt at high speed will not deteriorate your balance.

So, advise that whenever you turn on the machine, before that, spread both your legs on the deck. Then, after setting the speed of the belt according to yourself, keep your foot on it.

3. Never look down while Jogging on the treadmill

It often happens, out of tiredness or excitement, that people start looking down the movement their feet starts moving on the treadmill. However, this can be dangerous because you can lose balance and be a victim of an accident. Looking at the front while running on a treadmill prevents accidents and minimize trouble in breathing.

4.Grabbing treadmill handrails? Decrease speed!

It is common to see people grab the handrails while running on the treadmill. But if you do this for a long time, the arm will get stiff and stretched, and the pain will start. Keep the speed of treadmill decreased if you are exercising with the help of handrail.

5. Increase the treadmill speed, slowly

Do not increase the speed of the trade mill all of a sudden. By increasing its speed slowly, your body will also be accustomed to warm-up, and there will be no muscular cramps in the body.

6. Never set speed of the treadmill too fast

Firstly, find your ‘target heart rate’ before running on the treadmill. 

At the safest side, no one should run at more than 50-70 % of their ‘target heart rate’. Setting the speed too high to achieve fast weight loss can increase the risk of a heart attack.

7. Never get off from a running trade mill

Never get off from a running trade mill because you can lose your balance and even fall in the process. So, even if there is a call in your mid-session workout or someone is steadily banging at the door, do not try to get off a running treadmill. In such a case, press the emergency button and when the belt stops completely, then get off it. Remember! You can get a spinning head when you try to get off a moving treadmill.