The ideal length of a treadmill workout depends on goals.
Increasing physical activity while adopting a healthy eating pattern can help with weight loss and belly fat loss.
For many, this is a 3 miles per hour (mph) or faster pace.
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For overall health, you should walk at least 150 minutes weekly at this pace.
If you are not meeting this goal, reaching it can help you lose weight.
Aiming for 75 minutes a week can be good for overall health.
Your ultimate goal may be to:
Tryvarying the treadmill incline.
This can quickly change the intensity of the workout.
This is because you’re intensifying your workout and allowing you to spend less time on the treadmill.
For Beginners
When beginning atreadmill workout program, start out slowly.
Take your time to discover what pace works best for you, whether you’re walking or running.
Slowly add time to your weekly workouts to meet your goals.
Begin at a pace that makes sense to you.
Remember, moderate activity will increase your heart rate, but you should still be able to converse.
These workouts provide bursts of intense exercise followed by short periods of rest.
Many treadmills have programmed HIIT workouts that it’s possible for you to try.
A brisk-walking HIIT workout varies your pace throughout the workout.
With a HIIT running workout, you might find yourself sprinting during the intense intervals, and thats OK.
However, remember to choose the pacing that works for you.
They can guide you on how best to proceed and what movements to avoid.
Toprevent injury, make these increases gradually over time.
The next day, walk or run at that increased pace for 10 minutes each session.
Experiencing pain during a workout can indicate that youre going too fast or have a too-high incline.
Struggling to complete your next workout after a harder one could suggest you overdid it.
Summary
The ideal duration of a treadmill workout depends on your goals.
For general health, experts recommend 150 minutes a week of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity.
The time and/or intensity of workouts need to increase for weight loss.
To improve cardiovascular health, weekly workout times should double.
For beginners, the goal is to get the minimum weekly requirements and increase from there.
HIIT workouts are a great way to increase intensity and vary the workout.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Physical activity and your weight and health.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Measuring activity intensity.
2019;16:E66.
2019;11(7):171-188. doi:10.4330/wjc.v11.i7.171
American Heart Association.Warm up, cool down.
