7 Ways Treadmill Workouts Can Benefit Your Health

Treadmills have become some of the most popular workout machines on the market. And with a good reason! First, they allow you to stay fit, even without having to go outdoors. But more importantly, treadmill workouts can benefit your health, both mentally and physically!

That’s right! This piece of cardio exercise equipment offers several health benefits. So, if you’re just starting your health journey, treadmill workout is an excellent option. That said, here are 7 ways a treadmill workout can impact your health!

Improves Heart health

Treadmills provide outstanding cardiovascular exercises, which can significantly enhance your heart health. Thanks to their ability to maintain constant heart rates throughout the exercise.

If you’ve high cholesterol or cardiovascular issues, this can be very beneficial. They can help to diagnose cardiac issues like heart disease and artery blockages. Under normal circumstances, your body may not exhibit symptoms of these heart conditions. However, when put under pressure through a workout, those symptoms will be displayed.

Treadmill working is an aerobic/ cardio exercise. Studies demonstrate that aerobic exercise can minimize the risk of heart diseases. Moreover, they can strengthen your heart muscles. This helps to lower blood pressure and allows the heart to pump blood more efficiently. Most doctors recommend aerobic exercise to people suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular exercises control cholesterol levels in the blood, preventing artery blockage. They increase high-density lipoprotein and reduce low-density lipoprotein in the blood.

Weight loss

Jogging or running on a treadmill helps to lose weight as well as burn fat quickly and effectively. Yet it’s easier on your knees and joints than outdoor running. This is the most popular advantage of working out on a treadmill workouts. Besides, these workouts burn calories at a faster rate than other aerobic exercises. To burn calories even faster, you just need to run longer and faster on the machine.

Another great way of reducing body fat safely and quickly is through HIIT workouts. This doesn’t mean that lower-intensity workouts will not help you lose weight. However, you’ll not see results as quickly as with HIIT running.

The CDC suggests 150 min of moderate- or 75 min of vigorous-intensity workouts per week. In another study, you’ll need to jog or walk on a treadmill for about 4 miles to burn 400- 600 calories.

Strengthens your muscles

Treadmills are mostly used for cardio training. However, this fitness machine can be used for more boosting your cardiovascular health. It’s ideal for strengthening your muscles, including glutes, thighs, and calves.

With treadmill workouts, you can always optimize the sessions to suit your goals. For instance, inclining the treadmill will stretch out the calves and glutes harder. This will help to tone and build muscle mass in your buttocks, legs, and thighs.

Remember, treadmill workouts engage different muscle groups in your body. Apart from leg muscles, lumbar and abdominal muscles will be engaged while training. In other words, treadmill training will tone your stomach as well.

Lastly, you’ll get light-strength workouts for your back, shoulder, and arms. This will happen as you swing the arms while running on the machine. To increase the workout intensity further, hold weights while training on the treadmill.

Mental Health

A study on the effects of physical activity on mental health was published in the Lancet. This study specifically focused on depression. The report demonstrated that regular exercisers had fewer days of depression per month.

In another study, people suffering from depression walked on treadmill machines for 30-min sessions. After 10 days, all participants report a considerable reduction in depression symptoms. This shows that exercise can have a significant impact on mood, and mental health in general.

Engaging in physical activities like treadmill running triggers the release of endorphins. These are happiness chemicals that are released by the nervous system. As a result, your mood improves, while signs of stress, depression, and anxiety decrease.

Moreover, exercise can increase brain sensitivity for the norepinephrine and serotonin hormones. These hormones are known to relieve depression and stress symptoms.

Enhances your brain health & memory

Once you reach the age of 30, thought processing speed and memory recall starts to decline. This is due to decreased number of brain cells and information-transmitting neurons. For this reason, remembering names or learning new things at the age may take more time. Scientists have demonstrated that exercise can enhance brain function and prevent memory loss.

To confirm this hypothesis, 55 older adults presented MRI scans for analysis. Afterward, their health, including cardiovascular fitness was assessed. The fittest participants had fewer reductions in the temporal, frontal & parietal brain parts. This clearly demonstrated that they had more robust brain tissues.

First, cardiovascular activities increase the heart rate. This promotes the movement of oxygenated blood to the brain.

This stimulates the production of hormones that encourage brain cells to grow. Engaging in physical activities has been demonstrated to help the hippocampus grow. This brain part handles all activities related to memory and learning. Also, regular exercise can reduce changes that cause schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Helps to regulate blood sugar

The lack of regular exercise is one of the major causes of chronic diseases like diabetes. Therefore, regular treadmill exercise can reduce the risk of these diseases. It’s also an essential aspect in regulating insulin, particularly in patients with Diabetes mellitus Type-2. Insulin refers to the hormone that helps body cells to convert blood glucose to energy.

To show the role of physical activities in preventing diabetes, a study was conducted. It involves more than 3000 participants at high risk of getting diabetes. The participants walked for 150 minutes every week for 3 years. At the end of this research, every individual had lost 12 to 15 pounds. More importantly, their risk of diabetes had decreased by up to 58%.

Similarly, exercising regularly on a treadmill lowers blood glues levels in diabetic patients. Exercising on a workout machine for more than 20-min sessions makes the liver release glycogen. Muscles use this glucose to produce energy. This reduces the overall levels of blood glucose in your body.

Regular treadmill workouts can also enhance insulin sensitivity. This refers to a condition in which the human body fails to utilize insulin properly. Note, insulin sensitivity can occur in diabetic and non-diabetic people.

Different studies have asserted the benefits of physical activity on insulin sensitivity. In one study, 28 women with type 2 diabetes engaged in aerobic exercise for 4 months. They exercised for 40- 60 minutes, 3 days per week. According to this study, the workouts enhanced their insulin sensitivity by approximately 20%.

Improves Sleep quality

Running or walking on treadmills can help you sleep better at night. That is because cardiovascular activities boost the release of melatonin. This is the sleep hormone that helps you sleep more soundly.

Regarding sleep quality, beginner treadmill workouts lead to energy depletion. This stimulates the therapeutic process during sleep. Moreover, working out leads to a rise in your body temperature. This helps it to decrease during sleep, which improves the quality of sleep.

Reports from several studies have asserted that exercise improves sleep quality. In one study, 17 individuals with insomnia engaged in physical activity for 16 weeks. The participants slept more soundly and longer than the controlled group.

Bottom Line

Running or walking on a treadmill can improve your health in almost every aspect. These exercises can help you relax, lose weight and reduce signs of depression. Similarly, they can minimize symptoms of stress, anxiety, and mental tension.

To find the ideal exercise machine to suite your workout and fitness needs, check out treadmill reviews. There are so many treadmill machines out there to help you accomplish your health goals.