Don't give up your
weekly walk because the cold has chilled your plans.
Substitute your regular walk outdoors with a well-programmed
treadmill trek indoors.
Visualize — Imagine your favorite trail
and recall the ups and downs of the walk. Program a hike into
the treadmill with similar parameters. You might even draw a
picture of the terrain you want to emulate because some
treadmills will put a diagram of your walk on a screen before
you start.
Time — Adapt the plan for 30 minutes
longer.
Warm up — Warm up for five minutes at a
speed of 2 with a 0.5 percent incline.
Hike — Increase the speed gradually to the
3 to 3.5 range and adjust the incline up to 2 percent.
Climb — Once you hit maximum speed,
increase the incline by 2 percent every two minutes without
increasing the speed. For a light walk, aim for an incline of
5 to 10 degrees.
Summit — For a hard climb, increase to 15
percent. Maintain a steady speed.
Descent — Begin reducing the incline at
the same rate you increased it. The descent should take the
same time you took to reach your peak.
Cool down — Slow down slowly; don't simply
stop. Add a couple of extra minutes to reproduce the time
you'd spend returning to your car, had you been walking
outside.
Stretch — Stretch your muscles while
they're warm and pliable.
Add-on — If your treadmill has a computer
monitor take a look at YouTube hiking videos:
—Hiking: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkXsJDQefjY,
9 minutes 13 seconds
—Hiking the Hermit Trail: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc2BYjhT5y4,
5:12
—The Scariest Hike in the World:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W09MhqpdMoM, 6:26
—Illinois River Bluff Trail:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2xmqQPi-ek, 8:49
Source: Life Fitness FitTips at
www.lifefitness.com.