When the weather gets nasty outdoors, especially in the cold winter months, an indoor treadmill can be an excellent way of exercising. However, treadmill users have a common grouse – that working out on the treadmill gets to be monotonous and boring after a while. And that is justified, because staring at the same four walls during a treadmill workout is much less appealing than jogging outdoors among the sights of nature.

In order to make a treadmill workout more appealing, experts have devised many methods of workouts. A good treadmill workout should be able to work the muscles of the calves, thighs, hips, butt, abdomen and chest, plus improve circulation. People who just walk on the treadmill at home without expert surveillance often end up only exercising their lower limbs and do not extract the maximum advantages that a treadmill provides.

Other things have to be borne in mind. While treading indoors, you don’t put as much effort as you would outdoors. There is no wind and no air resistance to drag you behind. The path outside is stony too, and that means there is no cushiony comfort of the conveyor belt in the great outdoors. Then there may be traffic or other people milling around in the opposite direction, which may require you to deviate from the path. Taking these turns also requires extra effort. So, since a treadmill workout is easier than an outdoor sprint, you should tread at a little higher speed and incline as you would do outdoors.

Listening to music or keeping the television on reduces the boredom of an indoor workout. It is also necessary to keep the room well-ventilated and airy to prevent sweatiness and slipperiness of the belt.

Begin your treadmill workout with a low speed and gradually work upwards. In order to compensate for lack of air resistance, keep the speed a little higher than what you are accustomed to outside. Gradually step up the speed. After a couple of minutes, you should be sprinting, not walking, but make this an automatic increase so that you do not realize when you have to begin sprinting. While stepping on the belt, do not press the belt too hard, as this would exert more pressure on the shin, causing shin aches and other muscle aches. Also, take care that the speed does not go so high that you have to pant and gasp, and can’t speak clearly. Treadmill workouts work best in accordance with the body capacity of the user.

Reserve half the time of a treadmill workout each day for incline treading. If you work out for 50 minutes each day (this time should be possible when you are treading for at least 4 weeks on a daily basis), then keep 25 minutes for inclines. The same policy works for inclines as horizontal treading. Begin with a mild incline, like 3 or 4, and gradually work it upwards up to 8. Treadmill manufacturers try to hook their customers by providing more inclines, sometimes up to 25, but that limit is not necessary. A person can increase the incline as days progress.