Walk the Walk: Advanced treadmill workouts

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When is walking not walking? When you spice up your treadmill workout program with some creative twists that add a whole new aspect to an old standby in many workout rooms.
Any physical activity you do is beneficial to some degree, but if you are looking to get more out of your treadmill workouts I will offer some advanced tips for treadmill walking this week.
Today, here are three ways to change up your walk to make it more interesting and more productive:

Interval training – If you normally walk for 20 minutes on the treadmill at 1.5 or 2 mph speed, change things up by walking at a faster pace for different portions of the workout. For instacne start with a 5-minute warmup but then bump up the speed to a higher level for 3 minutes. Then go back to your lower setting for 5 minutes, followed by another bump-up interval. You’ll burn more calories that way and improve your conditioning level. Tweak the interval jumps to fit your ability level.
Incline training – Raise the incline on the treadmill to work out your legs in a different way. This will break up the monotony of always doing the same flat-plane workout.
Strength moves – At the end of your walking workout perform some strength moves while still on the treadmill. You can do lunges, squats and side steps, using the treadmill handles to assist with balance if necessary.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com