Treadmill Mistakes You Should Avoid
By Sara Butler
Walking on a treadmill is a deceptively easy workout. That’s because while it may seem simple – get on the treadmill, hit go, and start walking your way to better health – there are some common mistakes people make that keep them from getting the most out of their workout. Here are the most common treadmill mistakes people make to help you avoid them!
Mistake No. 1: No Warm-up
Any physical activity requires a warm-up. Getting your muscles ready for the activity ahead can help you avoid injury and can also help you increase the intensity of your workout. So, just because you’re jumping on the treadmill to walk doesn’t mean you don’t need to prepare your body for the pretend road ahead.
You should start your treadmill workout with about a 10-minute warm-up in which you walk at an easy pace and build up to your normal workout speed. This will prepare your muscles and help you get more out of your sweat session.
Mistake No. 2: Keeping Your Eyes on the Monitor
One of the best things about a treadmill is that you have all your metrics right in front of you. Your speed, incline, calories burned, and distance is all right there for you. But you really need to avoid walking on the treadmill with your eyes glued to the monitor at all times.
Keeping your head down as you work out promotes bad posture and it also makes it more likely you’ll grab onto the arm rails for assistance to stay balanced. Remember that swinging your arms as you walk is one of the important things to a walking workout and looking down can diminish some of that benefit. You’ll burn more calories and up the intensity of your workout by engaging your arms and keeping your eyes ahead, not down.
Mistake No. 3: Changing Your Stride
Another common bad treadmill habit is changing your stride. Some people walk too close to the front, shortening their stride, while others overstride, causing excessive heel strike as they attempt to walk faster than they normally would.
Instead of falling into these common traps, focus on the basics of good walking form on the treadmill. You should be striking with the front of your foot hitting first as you push off with your back foot. Remember, your back foot is where the speed and power of your stride come from, so concentrate on making that portion count.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Denton, Tex.