I’m a 46-year-old, two-stone-overweight woman with a treadmill. For four weeks I’ve been on it six days a week for 20 minutes (doing 6.2-6.5mph), but I have not lost a single pound. I am desperately disillusioned. What should I do?
Don’t lose heart – you don’t need drastically to overhaul your training, but there are some vital tweaks you need to apply to your routine, both on and off the treadmill.
On the treadmill, raise the incline and increase the time you spend on it. When you run or walk on a flat treadmill, you miss out on sculpting and calorie-burning potential. Using no incline also increases the risk of injury, since the motor action is similar to running slightly downhill, rather than on a flat surface – your muscles don’t work as hard and your knees take more of a pounding. A 1% incline simulates walking on a flat surface, while a 6% incline nearly doubles your calorie burn. Increase your walking time by five minutes each week, until you are walking with an incline for 45 minutes five times a week.
Off the treadmill, think of it this way: you have done 20 minutes’ exercise for six days – two hours a week. Now let’s use some arithmetic: there are 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week, and let’s say you have the luxury of sleeping 10 hours a night. That leaves 98 hours a week in which you can physically move your body; currently you move your body on the treadmill for a total of only two hours. What about the remaining 96 hours? If you spend most of that time stationary, then you’re expecting a lot of change in your body from just two hours’ exercise. So learn to love to move throughout the day.
Last, how many calories you put in your mouth counts – you can find an energy evaluator at kelloggs.co.uk for weight loss. Aim for a 300 calorie deficit each day to see a difference.
Joanna Hall is a fitness expert (joannahall.com). Send your exercise questions to Weekend, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER ([email protected]).
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