Post: #1

I was a while without working out, and I accumulated a bit of belly fat. I'm trying to burn that belly.

The treadmill at my local gym has a "fat burner" program, which is set as follow:
0 min - 1 min = 2 km/h
1 min - 2 min = 4 km/h
2 min - 3 min = 6 km/h
3 min - 4 min = 8 km/h
4 min - 5 min = 7 km/h
5 min - 6 min = 8 km/h
6 min - 7 min = 6 km/h
7 min - 8 min = 3 km/h
8 min - 9 min = 5 km/h
9 min - 10 min = 2 km/h
(repeat the above 3 times)

I've trying to keep a low-fat diet, avoid processed foods, and eat healthy. In Thailand it's really easy to eat healthy food and it's cheap too, that's a great incentive. What are your thoughts about this treadmill exercise?

Post: #2

You are gonna burn more belly fat and get overall better results as a man if you lift heavy weights....

You may as well sign up for a zumba class if all you are gonna do is use a treadmill.

Post: #3

I lift weights too; dumbells + benching + leg workout 4 times a week.

Post: #4

Half hour of treadmill every other day keeps the cardio system on the up-and-up. Weights tone the muscles.

Doing both regularly will keep you toned and healthy and probably keep you from being overweight...but...

I have found from experience and reading that the only way to truly lose weight is to eat less. The New York Times even did an article on this a few years ago.

My personal proof of this came a few years ago. The quickest I ever lost ten pounds was in 2010 when I was diagnosed with a mild form of diverticulitis. The doc put me on a liquid diet and told me to not eat any solids for a few weeks. Instant weight loss.

Post: #5

The absolute best exercise for fat loss is sprinting.

If you haven't sprinted in a while, I'd recommend sprinting up a hill if there's one near where you live. Using a hill limits your range of motion which will reduce injuries. Make sure you warm up and don't go all out right away as it's a good way to pull your quadriceps, especially if you haven't sprinted in a long time.

The two main reasons why sprinting is best for fat loss are EPOC/Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption and that sprinting promotes a plethora of enzymatic changes which encourage both fat burning and reduced fat storage.

Sprinting is also anaerobic and will build muscle, though hard lifting will usually do a better job at this because sprinting tends to tax your respiratory system more, so you usually run out of breath quick.

Again, please warm up and take it easy the first few times, especially if you're inexperienced, in order to avoid injury.

Post: #6

Those speeds look very slow- are you sure you'll burn fat? I think you posted the highest speed you ran at was 9km/h. You want to be doing a maximum of 3/4 different speeds as HIIT (interval training) with a walking speed, jogging, running and sprinting.

Post: #7

I agree with the most posters. HIIT is the ideal work out according to most. See the scientific evidence on wikipedia.

After an initial warm-up, I run 11mph for 30 seconds, then walk 3.8 mph for 30 seconds. I repeat this 6 times, then cool down. You can adjust this to your level/liking after reading the webstie below but when you run for HIIT, you must normally run with your highest possible speed. I would like to run faster than 11mph but this is the highest speed for my treadmill. You will get "this guy is crazy" looks from others in the gym at 11mph. I try to do HIIT three times a week.

For Scientific evidence regarding HIIT, read the wiki website below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intens...l_training

Post: #8

Fact1: treadmills were invented as running subsititutes

Fact2: most people who use treadmills are too lazy to seek out opportunities to run for real.

Are you serving on a submarine? Living on the north side of the arctic circle? Are you imprisoned? If not then why do you don't you change a boring gym hamster spin for a functional outdoor exercise? Finally you will know what how fast you actually run in real life.

I hate exercising with machines. It's like playing video games. Your stats increase but what can you do with them in real life? When I exercise I want to know how much I can actually lift and how fast I can actually run/swim/cycle.

Also agree that free heavy weights and sprinting is much better.

Post: #9

I do a variation of that routine, every 3 minutes I increase the speed until I am gassed.
Walk for 4 minutes at 2.5
run for 3 minutes starting at 5.0 and increasing until I get to 7.5, which by that time I am done.

Weights alone will not help you burn belly fat.

Post: #10

The best treadmill exercise i was ever shown is a 'treadmill push.'
Don't turn on the treadmill, brace your arms forward against the handles and 'run' the treadmill so the running belt rotates on the rollers/motor. So essentially you are powering the treadmill.
Slow long strides are almost like lunges, and fast sprints are like power sprinting. They take much more effort than running on a moving treadmill.