Looking for some killer treadmill workouts for weight loss? Here are five weight loss workouts you can do on the treadmill, plus some tips for getting the most of your time on the treadmill.
When it comes to lighting fat on fire and losing weight, few cardio machines in the gym can hold a candle to the treadmill machine.
It’s a truly functional cardio machine, one that delivers a consistently high-quality workout that makes you fitter at the basic activities of daily life: walking and running.
In this post, we’ll cover what makes the treadmill easily the best cardio machine for losing weight, share with you a few of my favorite weight loss treadmill workouts, and offer some tips on how to make the most of every minute you spend training on the treadmill.
By the end of this post, you’ll see the treadmill in a whole new light and be as excited as I am to get on the machine and get working hard to lose weight and get fit!
Why You Should Use the Treadmill for Weight Loss
I want to take a moment to highlight some of the most important treadmill benefits, a few of the many reasons that it’s worth spending more time training on the treadmill:
⭐ Ultra-Functional
I’m all about any workout that is “functional”, meaning it translates into more efficient performance of the activities you get up to in your daily life. That includes the exercise bike for cyclists and the rowing machine for paddlers and kayakers.
When it comes to functionality, you just can’t beat the treadmill. After all, it’s a machine training you to walk, jog, run, and sprint more efficiently, improving your performance in the most basic (and common) activities of daily life.
The more time you spend training on the treadmill, the more easily you are able to walk, run, jog, and sprint longer in real-life situations and environments.
⭐ Get Your Cardiovascular System Working Hard
Few other workouts can get your cardiovascular system working as efficiently as treadmill training.
Think about it: when you walk or run or jog, your legs are propelling the weight of your entire body forward. That takes a lot of energy, not only in your leg muscles, but also the core and stabilizer muscles that maintain your balance.
There are few forms of cardio that can burn more calories than jogging, running, and sprinting for this very reason. Your lungs work harder to absorb oxygen into your bloodstream, your heart pumps that oxygenated blood to the working muscles, and your blood vessels have to flex and dilate to allow that blood to flow.
All in all, the effort you put into walking, running, jogging, and sprinting on the treadmill does more for your cardiovascular health than any other workout—be it rowing, cycling, elliptical training, or stair climbing.
⭐ Amazing for Your Health
There are few forms of exercise better for your health overall than walking, jogging, and running.
Just a few of the benefits1,2,3 include:
- Lower blood sugar levels
- Lower cholesterol and blood lipid levels
- Improved hormone balance
- Improved mood, and lower risk of anxiety and depression
- Better overall heart health
- Lower chance of diabetes
- Enhanced mental health, memory, learning, and overall cognitive function
- Improved sleep quality
And the truth is that there are so many more!
Spending more time walking, jogging, and running on the treadmill (or in the great outdoors, weather-permitting) is excellent for your overall health.
⭐ Walk and Run Anytime
The great thing about the treadmill is that it enables you to get in your daily walk, jog, or run even if the weather outdoors is uncooperative.
Heavy rains coming down? No problem! Snow drifts blocking off your favorite running path? No worries! Too cold to run? Not an issue!
The treadmill makes it easy to get in your ultra-functional, health-boosting, weight-loss-inducing workout no matter what the weather is like.
You can always make time for your workout, and still train hard even if you’re shut indoors.
Treadmill Workouts for Losing Weight
Now that I’ve talked (at length, admittedly) about just how awesome the treadmill is, it’s time to dive in and look at some of the best ways to use the treadmill to see results.
Below, I’m going to share with you some of my favorite treadmill workouts. Some will be more beginner-oriented, while others with be for more advanced trainees.
But wherever you’re at on your fitness journey, rest assured there is a good treadmill workout for losing weight for you!
Treadmill Workout #1: Easy Peasy Beginner Workout
For those who are totally new to training on the treadmill, let’s start off with something a bit lighter and more sustainable.
You can increase gradually as your cardio fitness improves; for the first few workouts, we’ll keep it slow and steady.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of warm-up, walking at a moderate pace (between 3.2 and 3.5 MPH).
- Speed up to around 4.3 to 4.6 MPH, a fairly moderate jogging pace.
- Try to sustain this pace for 10 minutes.
- If you hit the 10-minute mark and you still have some energy, push for 15 minutes.
- If you hit the 15-minute mark and you still have some energy, push for 20 minutes.
- For those who are really feeling it, aim for 25 to 30 minutes of this moderate-pace jog. That’s your “beginner target” to aim for.
- Spend the last 5 minutes cooling down by walking at the same moderate pace you warmed up at.
Treadmill Workout #2: Endurance Workout
For those who are already accustomed to the basic workout, it’s time to turn things up a notch.
This workout will focus on your endurance, using intervals of moderate and slightly faster running to increase your body’s ability to run hard.
The ultimate result will be a faster base jogging/running pace as well as significant improvement to your cardiovascular conditioning.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of warm-up, walking at a moderate pace (between 3.2 and 3.5 MPH).
- Speed up to around 4.5 MPH, a suitable jogging pace. Run for 1 minute at this speed.
- For 1 minute, speed up to anywhere between 5.5 and 6.5 MPH (1-2 MPH above your base speed).
- Slow back down to your jogging speed. Jog for 2 minutes at this speed.
- For 2 minutes, speed up to your running pace.
- Jog for 3 minutes at the slower jogging pace.
- Run for 3 minutes at the running pace.
- Keep adding 1 minute to each interval, increasing the duration of your runs until you hit fatigue.
- Spend the last 5 minutes cooling down by walking at the same moderate pace you warmed up at.
Treadmill Workout #3: Ladder Workout
With this workout, you gradually increase your running speed until you can’t push any harder, improving your endurance significantly and pushing yourself to run faster.
It’s an intermediate-level workout that will be amazing for weight loss.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of warm-up, walking at a moderate pace (between 3.2 and 3.5 MPH).
- Speed up to your standard jogging pace, usually around 4.5 MPH.
- Run at a jog for 1 minute.
- Speed up by 0.2 to 0.3 MPH, and run at this faster pace for 1 minute.
- Again, speed up by 0.2 to 0.3 MPH, and run at this faster pace for 1 minute.
- Keep increasing in one-minute increments of 0.2 to 0.3 MPH. Your target goal should be to hit 6.5 MPH, a fairly fast running speed.
- Once you reach the goal, start reversing the ladder, decreasing every minute by 0.2 to 0.3 MPH.
- Work your way back down to one final minute of your basic jogging speed (4.5 MPH), and you are done with the hard work!
- Spend the last 5 minutes cooling down by walking at the same moderate pace you warmed up at.
Treadmill Workout #4: Hill Climbs
For those who want to work their glutes and hamstrings, it’s time to work with a bit of incline and really push the rear leg muscles as well as your cardiovascular system.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of warm-up, walking at a moderate pace (between 3.2 and 3.5 MPH).
- Set the pace to a standard jog (around 4.5 MPH) and raise the incline by 1-2 levels.
- After 1 minute, increase the incline again by 1-2 levels.
- After 1 minute, increase your run speed by 0.1 to 0.4 MPH.
- After 1 minute, increase the incline again by 1-2 levels.
- After 1 minute, increase your run speed by 0.1 to 0.4 MPH.
- After 1 minute, increase the incline again by 1-2 levels.
- Keep increasing the incline by 1-2 levels every minute until you reach the max setting. If you can increase your run speed, too, do it!
- Run at maximum incline for 1-2 minutes.
- Decrease the incline by 1-2 levels every minute until you return to flat setting.
- Finish off with 30 to 60 seconds of sprinting at full speed (anywhere above 8.0 MPH).
- Spend the last 5 minutes cooling down by walking at the same moderate pace you warmed up at.
Treadmill Workout #5: Advanced Sprint Training
Time to give you a more advanced workout, one that involves sprinting intervals mixed with shorter periods of rest at a slower running pace.
Treadmill sprint workouts aren’t for the faint of heart, but if you can push your body hard, you’ll see amazing results in just 20 to 25 minutes.
Adding 2-3 sprint workouts into your weekly running/treadmill routine can do wonders for spicing things up and improving your baseline running speed.
The Workout:
- Start off with 5 minutes of warm-up, walking at a moderate pace (between 3.2 and 3.5 MPH) for 1 minute, then jogging at roughly 4.5 MPH for the remaining 4 minutes.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 8 MPH.
- Jog for 60 to 90 seconds at 4.5 MPH.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 8.2 or 8.3 MPH.
- Jog for 60 to 90 seconds at 4.5 MPH.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 8.5 MPH.
- Jog for 60 to 90 seconds at 4.5 MPH.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 8.7 or 8.8 MPH.
- Jog for 60 to 90 seconds at 4.5 MPH.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 9 MPH.
- Jog for 60 to 90 seconds at 4.5 MPH.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 9.2 or 9.3 MPH.
- Jog for 60 to 90 seconds at 4.5 MPH.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 9.5 MPH.
- Jog for 60 to 90 seconds at 4.5 MPH.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 9.7 or 9.8 MPH.
- Jog for 60 to 90 seconds at 4.5 MPH.
- Run for 30 to 60 seconds at 10 MPH.
- Spend the last 5 minutes cooling down by walking at the same moderate pace you warmed up at.
How to Maximize Weight Loss on the Treadmill
If your goal is to lose the most amount of weight for the time you invest into your treadmill training, here are some simple tips for you:
- Speed up. Rather than always jogging at your current “base” pace (be it 4.3 or 4.6 MPH), try speeding up. Even if you only speed up during part of your workout, it’s worth adding up to 0.5 MPH to your regular pace. Not only will it push your body harder and improve your cardio, but the increased energy output will lead to greater weight loss.
- Add incline. Adding incline increases the difficulty of the walk, run, or jog, and engages the lesser-used glutes and hamstrings, too. It’s an amazing way to strengthen your legs, burn more calories, and increase your aerobic capacity.
- Mix in sprints. Sprint intervals (be it in HIIT or Tabata or some other method) are game-changing for weight loss and calorie-burning, but also for speeding up your metabolism, releasing a flood of endorphins, and improving your cardiovascular conditioning. Plus, you can get your workout done in a fraction of the time!
- Run longer. There will be days when you’re in the mood to run fast and work hard, and other days when you want a slower, leisurely jog that lasts longer. It’s worth giving yourself days to run a bit slower if it helps you to increase your run time. You’ll burn more calories jogging at 4.5 MPH for 45 minutes than running at 5 to 5.5 MPH for 20 to 30 minutes.
Simple and easy tips, but they will make every workout more effective in the long run!
Treadmill Workouts for Weight Loss – FAQs
Is the treadmill an effective cardio machine for weight loss?
As you saw in my treadmill vs Stairmaster article, there are no workouts more “functional” for your activities of daily life than treadmill training, and it activates a significant amount of energy—meaning it burns a lot of calories.
Some machines can burn more calories per hour than the treadmill, the air bike and elliptical machine are two examples, but none of the others will lead to as effective weight loss in the long run.
What is the best treadmill workout for losing weight?
Sprint training is the best treadmill workout for losing weight. Not only does the high-and-low-intensity interval training burn a lot of calories during the workout, but it keeps the calorie burn going for hours after the workout is done.
The metabolism boost resulting from HIIT/sprint training is absolutely game-changing for your weight loss.
Pro tip: When choosing the best type of elliptical machine for HIIT workouts, try the curved treadmill. It’s easier on the joints and burns more calories per session compared to regular treadmills1.
The Bottom Line
If you take nothing else away from this article, I hope you at least understand that the treadmill is a truly amazing machine that can offer excellent weight loss results when used correctly.
Try the workouts and tips I shared above, and you will see real progress in terms of both fitness and fat loss.
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