Can Treadmill Running Do More Harm Than Good?

As some of you may know I go to the gym 3-4 times a week as my form of exercise. Since joining, I gradually started treadmill running as part of my gym regime.

It took me weeks to build up to 25 minutes of pure running, but I got there in the end. However, it really exhausted me and I damaged my achilles heel in the process…

Table Of Contents:

1. Do We Need This High Intensity Exercise?
2. How Many Calories Can We Burn On The Treadmill?
3. Treadmill Running Tips (Video)
4. Alternative Forms of ‘Moderate’ Exercise Away From The Gym
5. Pizza versus Treadmill Competition (Video)
6. In A Nutshell

Do We Need This High Intensity Exercise?

I took two weeks off from running on the treadmill and done other stuff at the gym instead.   The thing is, I used to be on the treadmill for 30 minutes (25 minutes of it running) then go straight onto the cross-trainer for 30 minutes.  So that was one full hour of high-intensity cardio.  This was too much for me as I was shattered for the rest of the day!! But I thought I ‘had’ to do this to lose my weight.  Anyway, two weeks passed and I tried treadmill running again.  I lasted 20 minutes and my achilles heel was hurting again. I never ran on the treadmill again for about 6 weeks. 

In between that time I used alternative equipment such as the rowing machine and the exercise bike.  I still tried to do my 30 minutes on the cross-trainer though.

The thing is, at Weight Watchers my weight loss didn’t stop or go up because of my lack of treadmill running.  I was doing a much less intensity regime now because of my achilles heel. 

However, because of the lesser amount of ‘high-intensity’ I decided to be that extra vigalent with my dieting.  So the weight loss was still there and consistent.

The treadmill running was not really necessary.  It absolutely shattered me and I now have an injury because of it. I have since started going back onto the treadmill but to walk on an incline (which is good for your thighs and bottom!).

Running has benefits including:

• Challenges cardio respiratory system
• Increases lung capacity
• Breathe more efficiently
• Burns fat to lose weight

However, treadmill running can be heavy going and jerky on your joints. If this is the case for you then do a less high intensity form of exercise.

I think as long as you do some sort of moderate exercise 3-4 times a week will suffice to help you keep fit and lose weight.

How Many Calories Can We Burn On The Treadmill?

This is what motivated me.  On these great pieces of equipment, you can see how many calories you’re burning!  So I worked out that I burned about 280-350 calories on the treadmill running for 30 minutes (4-5 weight watcher points).

Walking quite fast on an incline I would burn about 210 calories (3 weight watcher points).

So really, by doing any form of  ‘moderate’ exercise will help you burn around the 200-250 calorie mark.

This doesn’t mean you can eat chocolate or chips and then burn them off -- you still need to eat sensibly. This is burning fat off in addition to a low-calorie diet. This is how you lose weight.

Treadmill Running Tips (Video)

Yes, you don’t need to go running on a treadmill for 30 minutes everyday to lose weight, but I know that this kind of activity will challenge many people, it did me. 

So here is a short video to show you how to progress from walking to running on the treadmill:

Alternative Forms of ‘Moderate’ Exercise Away From The Gym

I know that many of you don’t go to the gym and probably have no inclination to join a gym neither. 

There is no need to go sprinting or do any kind of high intensity excessive exercising.  Of course you can if you want to,  but it’s not necessarily going to make you lose weight any faster.

As long as you do some form of activity which makes your heart rate go that bit faster and you get slightly out of breath, then that is enough for you to burn calories.

So here is a short list of activities which you can do outside of the gym.

• Digging in your garden
• Washing and waxing your car
• Jog on the spot waiting for the kettle to boil
• Walk up the stairs, don’t use the lift
• Salsa, line, tap dancing etc.
• Lend a dog and take it for long walks
• Play squash, badmington or tennis with a friend
• Swimming
• Get a small trampoline and bounce for 20 minutes
• Get on a bike and cycle
• Run up and own your stairs at home times
• Put on a cd and dance with the kids in the living room

Pizza versus Treadmill Competition!

I came across this video on YouTube when searching for a video to show you on treadmill running.

I thought I would put it in here for fun.  What it proves is that you still need to follow a low-fat diet even when exercising eveyday of the week.

So, do you think that the next time you have a pizza you can burn those calories off at the gym?

In A Nutshell:

Treadmill running has many benefits for respiratory and burning fat but it can be hard going on your joints and muscles. However if you want the challenge, then start by combining walking with running until you are running more than you are walking.

Remember, to lose weight is eat less and exercise more than what you are doing (if you’re doing none or very little exercise at the moment).

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