30 Minutes On A Treadmill – The Easy Incline Strut
I’ve been a gym goer for a long time, but I’ve always found it hard to find my own groove. Weightlifting isn’t really my thing, and rolling around on the ground in public always felt really embarrassing to me. So cardio it was, and I tried my hand at it all. The elliptical, the tall bikes, the shorter bikes, the treadmill. I tried online trends – the treadmill strut, the 12-3-30 and even spin class. But for someone who is more of a beginner, whose lungs can’t quite handle something as intense as a 12-3-30, it was hard to find my own strut. Until I came up with the best walk ever – the easy incline strut, which is an easy 30 minutes on a treadmill that helps you lose over 200 calories. Here’s how to do it.
Pick A Speed, Any Speed
First of all, you will need to pick a base speed for your workout. While many people opt to change speeds throughout the 30-minute workout, this one focuses on a single speed. Instead of running, then walking, then running, then walking… pick a speed that you can handle at different inclines. For someone who is just starting out, maybe that speed is 2.0 or 2.2. If you are more of an advanced walker, you might want to choose something closer to 2.5 to 2.8. Either way, congratulations, we don’t need to run at all during this workout! And you’ll still work off more than 200 calories in 30 minutes.
The Climb
My favorite thing about this workout is the way it has its own warm-up and cool-down built in. The little chart on your treadmill that tracks your incline will look like a hill by the end of it. And next time you want to go on a hike that includes a lot of incline work, you will be impressed by yourself. So how does it work? Basically, you set your treadmill at the set speed we chose in the last step and then get ready. Every half minute (or 30 seconds), you will turn your incline up 0.5, or simply hit the UP key once. So, at 30 seconds you will be at a 0.5 incline. At 3:30 minutes, you will be at 3.5. At 14 minutes, you’ll be at a 14 incline. It’s that simple and is really easy to follow. For anyone who gets bored on a treadmill, it also keeps you busy and time flies by.
The Decline
Now, you might be thinking “hey, most treadmills only go to a 15 incline, what do I do now?” You’re right on track. After you have steadily increased your incline for 15 minutes, it’s time to go back down! If you are able to change your treadmill’s setting to “count down” instead of “count up,” it’s the best way to keep track. Now, instead of your treadmill’s clock telling you that you are 16 minutes into your workout, it should instead tell you that you have 14 minutes left. Now, decrease your setting at the same rate you were increasing it before. 13 minutes left? 13 inclines. 7:30 minutes left? 7.5 incline. By the end of your walk, you will be almost walking flatly and you will be cooling off.
This workout is super adjustable and is good for anyone! Whether you’re just starting out or your walk a mile a day, this workout it perfect for everyone. It’s good for you, is an easy way to burn calories and can be adjusted to fit your needs (by changing the speed).
What do you think of this easy incline strut? Will you give it a try next time you spend 30 minutes on a treadmill? Let us know what you think below!