How Do Treadmill/Cross-Trainer? (A Spin-off Thread)

**sum yung gai** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 1:49am

This is a bit of a spin-off from the "Annoying Things At The Gym" thread. A lot of what you guys said about working the Treadmill and cardio got me thinking, so I guess I'm looking for a little feedback on this one.

A typical workout for me goes like this...

* 30 - 40 minutes on the Cross-Trainer (trying to keep the heart rate at 145-150 for Cardio)
* Whatever areas I'm working with machines and/or weights that day
* 40 - 60 slow-ass minutes on a Treadmill (heart rate at 125-130 to get rid of that dastardly fat)

Based on what a lot of you guys said on the aforementioned thread, I'm wondering if there's a better (i.e. higher intensity/less time) way to do the Cardio and fat burning. Any feedback y'all could give would be gratefully appreciated. Cheers!

P.S. Thanks for not tearing me too much of a new one, re: my gross ignorance of all things Treadmill-related. I'm a South Islander, so I'm bound to say stupid things from time to time.

**alex** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 1:59am

interval training. you are from the south so you should be familiar with this, heres an analogy-

you slowly creep up to the sheep.
sprint 30 seconds to the sheep when you are close enough
rape sheep
slowly creep up to the next sheep
sprint 30 seconds.... you get the idea.

**Lily** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 2:04am

If I can't run outside I do things like the following...oh bugger it. I just deleted a bunch of stuff I posted.

Go search for TeM's posts which had great vids on how to best use cardio equipment.

**Asriel** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 4:03am

Here's what I have done in the past:

walk at a good pace for 30 seconds, jog for 30/60 seconds, sprint for 30 seconds.

Rinse and repeat.

You should really feel it by about the fifth sprint.

If you don't fancy using the treadmill you can use hills. Run up the hill, walk down over and over.

**sum yung gai** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 6:41am

Cheers, guys! I'll give it a crack tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

P.S. "What do you think happens to all those sheep, after we're done fucking 'em? It gets exported to you as mutton! Think about that the next time the gravy is dribbling down your chin!" - Mike King (way back when he was still funny and not whoring Pork on TV)

ETA: I wish I could look up videos, but I'm a bum, and thus on dial-up. **** it. Cheers anyways, Lily!

**Lily** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 7:36pm

Ah, sorry.

Some of my treadmill favourites:

Example 1:
Choose one walking and jogging speed at which you will be able to maintain for this 25minute workout one (we'll call them W1 - walk speed 1 and J1 - jog speed 1)

Warm up - 2-3 minutes
Set the incline on the treadmill at the highest level
1min jog @ J1
1 min walk @ W1
Reduce incline by 1.0 (that's one 'rep')
1 min jog @ J1
1 min walk @ W1
Reduce incline by 1.0
Repeat till you've done 14 minutes (7 'reps')
Now instead of reducing the incline, increase it by 2.0
1 min jog @ J1
1 min walk @ W1
Increase incline by 2.0 (etc. complete 3 'reps')
Cool down

It probably sounds like too much fiddling with the settings but once you know what you're doing it is much better than just maintaining a flat jog for 60 minutes. Plus there are infinite variations to this exercise (eg. start with a low incline, build up high, decrease, increase again for 4 sets each time). I add a sprint rep every 3rd 'rep', that definitely challenges your heart and those tiring legs. As you build up your fitness your maintainable speed for walking and running will increase as well and you may end up doing a run/jog/run/jog interval.

Example 2:

Similar to Asriel's though I like to work in strict 1 minute intervals
Warm up
Jog at J1 for 1 minute
Run hard at S1 (sprint speed) for 1 minute
Jog at J1 for 1 minute - this phase should allow you to catch your breath, recover a little before hitting the sprint minute hard again
Continue for 20 minutes to begin with

Again with the variations, I do the above for 30 minutes after which I'll choose a medium speed and jog another 5-10 minutes. Then repeat the sprint intervals for another 10 minutes, cool down.

Oh, and be careful when you're sprinting and reaching out to change the speed settings.

**Kentucky Fried Chokin** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 8:41pm

I keep it pretty simple. I run, and every half mile I jump off and do some BW exercise like pushups of frog leaps.

**Lily** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 9:46pm

You can do that too (if you have the space and no one will cut you off on the treadmill/elliptical). I've seen some idiots not slow down the machine and try to 'gracefully' jump off to do squats or whatever, instead they've stacked it but fortunately nothing fatal. Worse is those who're trying to jump back on a treadmill that's on a high speed and the way they stumble and hold on to the bars for dear life when they realise their legs may not be able to keep up anymore. I've had to lean over and press the stop button for one guy.