Treadmill Exercises to Lose Weight for the Morbidly Obese

When you are ready to lose weight, you want to see results immediately. Nothing can be more detrimental to your program or self-esteem than hitting a plateau. Treadmills provide opportunities to create programs that can be updated to fit your fitness goals.

When you decide to start a weight loss program, remember to start slowly and set realistic goals for yourself. In order to lose one pound of fat you need a deficit of 3500 calories a week. This can come in the form of food reduction, exercise or both. Using a combination of exercise with a decrease in calories is considered the best way to lose weight. (See Reference 1) Once you start to create your program use F.I.T.T. This stands for frequency, intensity, time and type. (See Reference 1) Frequency refers to the number of days you will work out, intensity refers to tempo or speed, time will be the duration of your workout and type refers to your program whether it is cardiovascular or resistance training.

Once you begin your workout, use the first week to find your speed along with a comfortable amount of time on the treadmill. You may find that you are only able to walk for 5 to ten minutes the first day. Increase your time by one minute on your next work out. Do not increase your speed or incline until you are able to stay on the treadmill without resting for at least twenty five minutes. (See Reference 1) A low intensity, long duration workout will assist you in gaining muscular endurance while burning calories. (See Reference 2) When you are able to do this, increase your speed slowly by no more than one. For example if you are walking at a 3.5 do not go faster than 4.5 on the treadmill. You may need to decrease your time as you increase your speed.

Getting started may not be difficult, staying motivated and determined is something else. After you have been working out for a while, try adding variety to your program. This will help your body continue to burn calories while also helping you avoid reaching a plateau. Try increasing your speed for one minute then return to your original speed. You can do this throughout your work out as well as adding inclines. A 45-minute workout may include a 5 minute warm up followed by one minute segments of increasing speed, returning to original speed, increasing incline and returning to original incline. This can be repeated for several rounds and ending with a five to 10 minute cool down.

When starting an exercise program be sure to get an okay from your doctor. Start slowly taking breaks whenever you need to. Be sure to also have water to drink during your work out. It may also help to write down your workout in a journal, this could include time, speed and how you felt during and after your workout. The use of imagery may also help you to stay motivated. (See Reference 3) Post old pictures of yourself or pictures of what you want to accomplish on your workout journal or throughout your house where you will see them. This will help you to stay focused on your goal. (See Reference 3) If you feel you may need more assistance contact a personal trainer or nutritionist.