Does runnin' on a treadmill help U lose weight,and tone the entire body? Thanx

Yeah, running on a treadmill will help you lose weight...it's exercise. Except I've heard it is better for you to run outside, because of the impact of the treadmill on your back or something? I am not exactly sure but it would probably be better for you to run outside. Also, the treadmill kind of helps you along in your running, where as outside you are doing all the work yourself...plus you may be fighting the elements (ex. running against the wind) which may help you burn more calories.

Also, it wont' tone your whole body, you will have to add some other toning exercises (sit ups, free weights, push-ups maybe) anything to work those muscles in your arms, legs, stomach..where ever! hope this helped!

Treadmills are great for cardio exercise and will help speed your metabolism.

I prefer a treadmill over running outside. Treadmills have a much lower impact on your knees and body overall because they flex with your running where a paved street won't. I don't know of any studies that show a difference between running outside vs. treadmill. IMHO running is running.

Treadmills will force you to run at a certain speed where running outside is simply your effort.

I would recommend cardio (treadmill) in combination with weight / resistance training. Weight and resistance training will help build your muslces, increasing your metabolism. The added benefit is that when the weight starts to drop off you will have nicely toned muscles.

Nets33 is correct; running is running. Purists would argue that you aren't expending quite as many calories per mile on the treadmill as you would if running outside. But the tradeoff is safety, especially for women who have to run at night. To approximate outdoor running, it is recommended to keep the treadmill at 1-2% incline.

Also on the treadmill, you can work at 90% of max heart rate with less chance of injury.

If you hold weights and do presses or butterflies while running, you are working both upper and lower body.

If you are a lowcarb purist, you might have problems running. If you are eating enough carb that you can get your heart rate up to 90%, you should lose a lot of weight quickly.

Also, if you are worried about knees/ankles etc. Try an elliptical machine. I find these machines easier on the body.

The treadmill is definitely easier on the knees. I have 4 kids and prefer to run in the AM so it's pretty much all I can do right now. I'll look forward to the occasional outdoor run when my mom can babysit.

I get off that thing dripping with sweat, and no one can tell me that's not an effective workout! LOL! Oh and my resting heartrate is in the low 60's now and I only started in May. It was in the "normal" range of low 80's then.

Darla

Well WHAT DOES THE BOTTOM PART OF WHAT U WROTE MEAN? How much carbs,do U have to eat to get Ur heart rate up to 90%? Also U mentioned somethin' about "losin' weight fast"...The sound of that was nice LOL...As for me im eatin about 0-20 carbs daily and walkin/joggin on a treadmill for 30 minutes for now,than I will "BUILD UP TO RUNNIN" later.I run about 1.5 miles daily with a speed of 2.5-3.0---> that good? Thanx,Laura

That sounds like a sensible way to start.

You need enough carb in the blood to fuel running. All day long you are burning a mixture of fat and carbs. At low heart rates it is mostly fat you are burning for energy. At high heart rates, such as during a 100 yard sprint, you are burning mostly carbs.

How much carb? That depends on your energy usage. 20 grams a day is very little. Unless you're the size of a sparrow, I imagine that 20g won't carry you far at a run.

Example: Yesterday I ran 30 miles. For breakfast I had lowfat fig newtons and a glass of soy milk. For the run I had a 250 calorie powerbar every 60 minutes. If my math is correct, they're about 60 grams each. During the 6 hour run I drank 5 liters of gatorade at about 50 grams per liter.

Adding it all up comes to a little under 500 grams of carb. At my weight, (170 pounds) I use around 125 calories per mile or 3750 calories for the 30 miles. Or about 1000 grams of carb. So I definitely used up all of the carbs I ingested, plus about 500 grams more.

The point is to find out how much or little carbohydrate you need for running. By having carbs right before and during my run, it was all metabolized without the need for insulin. The whole point of low carb diets is to suppress insulin. The exercise goal is to have enough to prevent "bonking". That's when the body has run out of stored carbs. At that point you would not be able to run at all. That's been my experience anyway. For much of the run I was right on the verge of bonking but the powerbars saved me.

Studies have shown that if you can get your heart rate up to 90% of maximum for short periods you stimulate growth hormone (GH) secretion. GH has an anabolic effect on the body; better fat burning while stimulating muscle growth. These studies show much greater weight loss when working at 90% max heart rate when compared to a jogging pace.

Wow,that's great info.But how can I follow the Atkins Plan AND run/jog/walk as a way of exercise(cardio)?? Thanx,Laura

Cluster the carb intake around the workout. Have some before, during and immediately after the exercise. For the other 23 hours in the day, eat lowcarb. :-)

Is this a good idea for a beginner or should someone jog consistently for a few weeks first?

I started jogging/running mid-May, and have only recently begun doing this (mostly because my HR monitor strap for my treadmill had a dead battery and I only recently replaced it). I'm feeling like if I'd done this right away though the intensity of it would have made me dread running. That could be just me though.

I did notice it's harder to get into that range now--but my resting hr is about 64. I had to jog at nearly 5 mph for a few minutes to hit 85% or more.

I hope this means I'll be going even faster soon! I am wanting to run a 5k Aug 6, and was really hoping to finish with a decent time (for me, that would be under 40 mins) all while not killing myself.

Darla

When I started in on the treadmill I could barely do a mile in 20 minutes....

What I started to do was HIIT - gradually take up my pace and speed. I started by walking briskly for two minutes then jogging for a minute, then walking for two, etc. As I began to get in better shape I moved to walking for a minute then jogging for a minute gradually increasing my speed an incline.

It has been a great way for me to condition my body. It allows me to rev up my heart rate to that ideal % and then take it down. I'm proud to say that I now average 1.8 to 1.9 miles in 20 minutes.

I'll never be a big runnner - it's too hard on my knees. But I do enjoy my 20 minutes every other day.

Wow you're making excellent time!

I've been doing about 4.4 mph for about 35 min. adding a 5 min warmup & cool down for a total of 45 min. I'd like to add some strength training and just haven't been able to make the time! If I can keep my treadmill time around 30 most days that would do it right there. I actually did 15 min with weights yesterday! (I'm using Joyce Vedrals workout 101 DVD, and dividing the 2 days into 5.)

Yesterday, I decided to alternate 2 mins jog (4.4) with 2 mins faster jog(run? at 5.5, then 6mph). I did two 2 min intervals, and got a nasty stitch in my side that forced me to walk the rest of the time. I'll definitely keep trying! It's impossible to suddenly sprint on my treadmill though as it only increases/decreases in .1 mph increments. It's an awesome machine otherwise. It's a Pacemaster my dh got me for my b-day about 6 years ago and I don't think I'll ever be able to wear it out. It's almost a health club machine. (Sure felt guilty stackin towels on it )

Darla

Yeah, running is running is running. You can't escape the physics of moving your own mass over a certain distance in a certain amount of time... it's physics and you can't change the rules. I'm more the type of person who likes to guage their progress to the minute/sec. Running outside wouldn't allow me to have that precision, but a treadmill keeps all those stats for me (incline, calories, heartrate, time, etc..). Right now I'm working on being able to run 3.0 miles without stoping (up to 2.5 mi), and getting my 1.5 mile down to 12 minutes or less (~18 min). I'm torturing myself because I'm planning on going to Air Force Officer Training in about two years, so I want to be as prepared as possible physically.

Treadmills are great. They are definitely not optimal for marathon runners, as nothing can simulate the wind resistance and various other conditions that are found outside

Try one out at a gym before you buy one. Treadmills are very expensive and personally, I find them UNBELIEVABLY boring. It has to be pretty horrible conditions outside for me to choose a treadmill workout, and I've never run more than 6 miles on one