Stop Wasting Your Time with Worthless Treadmill and Elliptical Machine Workouts!
Stop Wasting Your Time with Worthless Treadmill and Elliptical Machine Workouts!
by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author: The Truth About Six Pack Abs
Now that I pissed off all of the treadmill and elliptical machine worshipers… let me say that if you truly enjoy mindlessly pumping away on a treadmill or elliptical (or exercise bike for that matter too), then by all means, keep doing what you enjoy, because enjoying your exercise is one of the most important aspects to sticking with any exercise program…
However, don’t say that I didn’t warn you that you were wasting your time with all that mindless cardio machine boredom.
If I haven’t mentioned it before, I don’t believe in cardio machines, and to be quite honest, I don’t think I’ve personally used a treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike for at least the last 7-8 years or so.
As a matter of fact, I don’t even use cardio machines anymore for warmups before a workout (did before occasionally)… Nowadays, I prefer to do dumbbell or kettlebell snatches and swings mixed with bodyweight exercises as the perfect full body warmup at the beginning of my workouts.
So why do I have such hatred for cardio machines? Well, here goes:
1) Treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes are mind-blowingly BOOOORING!
2) Mindless steady state exercise while watching tv or reading creates a mind / body disconnect resulting in poor results from your exercise routine
3) I’ve seen studies that indicated that treadmill running may be less effective than outdoor running for various reasons such as stride abnormalities on treadmills vs natural running, slightly less caloric burn compared to outdoor running, etc.
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(although I never recommend just “jogging” anyway… variable intensity walks / runs or sprints are so much more effective, training your heart rate in a much wider range instead of just the same pace during the entire workout).
4) Treadmills and ellipticals are ridiculously expensive and a waste of money for people that workout at home… there’s so many better options for home workouts you could have spent your money on rather than wasting it on a treadmill, bike, or elliptical.
The perfect home gym setup is MUCH cheaper… there’s no reason you need anything other than a jump rope, bodyweight exercises, a few dumbbells, stability ball, maybe a few kettlebells (if you want to get fancy), and perhaps high tension bands for some more variety.
By the way, here are some great adjustable dumbbells such which can save you big time cash if you’re setting up a home gym.
5) Treadmills and elliptical machines are just a very ineffective way to workout compared to other options. Why should you do treadmill or elliptical workouts when you can get better results by doing more interesting forms of training that actually stimulate a fat-burning hormonal response and stimulate your metabolism to a greater extent.
So what are the alternatives to treadmills and ellipticals? Here are some of my favorites:
* jumping rope – great mind / body connection (try speed jumping, crosses, double jumps once you get skilled at it)
* bodyweight training – bodyweight squats, pushups, lunges, jumps, bear crawls, mountain climbers and jumpers, planks, and the list goes on and on
* kettlebell training – nothing will get your heart pounding like high repetition KB swings and snatches or clean & presses (can be done with dumbbells too, but I prefer KBs)
* outdoor wind sprinting (the ultimate for a rock hard ripped body… just look at the chiseled powerful bodies of world class sprinters, and compare that to the weakling withered physique of a typical marathoner… nuff said!)
* hill sprinting (yet another classic for a rock hard powerful body)
* rowing machine (ok, I don’t really lump this in as a “cardio” machine like treadmills and ellipticals… I think the rowing machine is actually a great full body workout that actually uses resistance)
* sprint style swimming workouts (a more muscular workout than steady state distance swimming… I actually love the upper body pump I get from sprint style swimming) – this is the same concept as sprinting vs jogging but in a pool instead
* heavy bag punching / kicking workout, speed bag, rebound bag… all great forms of training and much more interesting than boring cardio machines (requires an intense mind / body connection)
* shadow boxing… awesome workout, but if you’re shy, this is best done at home since you’ll get some crazy stares doing this at a typical gym from people who think they’re “too cool” for stuff like that.
Well, I hope that helps give you ideas on how you can get away from all of these mindless and ineffective treadmill and elliptical (and exercise bike) workouts that are just wasting your time and energy that could be better spent on more effective workouts.
best full body and ab workoutsIf you don’t already have a copy of my Truth about Six Pack Abs program, you can see some of the incredible reviews and results people are getting with Truth about Abs here
You can check out the common questions and answers about this super-effective fat loss program here
Have a great one, and get out there and actually ENJOY your workouts!
Don’t be lazy, be lean.
interval trainingThe Top 5 Treadmill Workout Plans Using Interval Training
The Top 5 Treadmill Workout Plans Using Interval Training
It’s real easy to find a lot of treadmill workout plans. However, which of them are effective. Nobody likes to spend an hour and the gym doing long, slow, boring cardio workouts only to find out that what they were doing wasn’t effective enough to help them reach their goals. I’m going to give you 5 treadmill workout plans that you can modify in many different ways using interval training methods.
Interval training on the treadmill is not the easiest way to workout. You have to wait for the belt to catch up or slow down and if you are using an incline it may take a few seconds for it reach the level you need. But, let’s face it, sometimes the treadmill is the only available option. Personally, I prefer either sprinting outside on a track or a stationary bike (spin style).
1. Adjust the incline – This is the best option for someone who is just starting out with an exercise program. Start out walking at zero incline and at a comfortable pace that you will be able to maintain even if you are exhausted. Use this speed for the duration of the interval training workout. After a warm up of 3 – 5 minutes raise the incline to a level that will make you work hard for 30 seconds. After the 30 seconds, lower the incline back to zero. Repeat the cycle up to 10 times and follow with a 3 minute cool down. You’ve now just completed a workout in just less than 20 minutes.
2. Go for speed – Following the same principle as with the incline, adjust the speed instead. Remember, the treadmill will take a few seconds to get to the speed you want. The speed to use during your work phase should be very challenging.
3. Modified Tabata – Tabata interval protocol is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times. This will give you a 4 minute workout that you will never forget. However, I suggest that if you attempt this on the treadmill you should account for the transition time that the belt needs to slow down and speed up. So, you may consider using a 25 second work to 15 second cycle.
4. Rest to Work ratio – The rest to work ration is the amount of time you spend at low intensity (rest) to the amount of time you spend at high intensity (work). It is often expressed like this: 1:1, 2:1, or 3:1. For example, if you are using a 3:1 ratio you may spend 90 seconds resting to 30 seconds working. Changing the ratio will stress different energy systems. This is partly why interval training can be used for so many different sports – it can be modified to be sport specific training.
5. Backwards – You will certainly get lots of looks with this one. Walk on the treadmill backwards. I suggest using the incline to make your work portion more challenging. One caution you will need to remember: you will have to turn around a little to change the incline so be careful. This may be better to use with the pre-programmed interval workouts.
So there you have it! The top 5 treadmill workout plans using interval training methods. Use the principles in each of the modifications to add variety to your interval training program. With a little creativity you can create a nearly endless number of programs for your treadmill workouts.
