Can Just Running on the Treadmill Help Lose the Gut?

If you've decided to consider running on a treadmill to combat the excess fat around your midriff, you're on your way toward improving your health. Belly fat doesn't just affect how you look, it's also associated with life-threatening ailments such as heart disease and cancer. Doing several treadmill works every week and lowering your daily caloric intake can contribute to the loss of your gut and fat elsewhere in your body.

  1. Belly Fat and Beyond

    • Losing your gut isn't just a matter of picking the right exercise. Any aerobic activity, including running on a treadmill, can contribute to fat loss. But contrary to the exercise myth of spot reduction, no workout targets just your belly fat. To burn off your gut, you must create a caloric deficit. Reaching this deficit is the result of burning more calories than you've consumed. By creating a calorie deficit, you'll eventually realize a reduction in not only your belly fat, but also other fatty areas throughout your body.

    Keep It Steady

    • Don't expect to see measurable results upon one treadmill workout. Losing weight safely requires patience; a realistic weight-loss goal is 1 to 2 pounds a week and even if you manage to lose 2 pounds per week, only a percentage of this weight loss will be from your belly. Plan to run on the treadmill for at least 150 minutes per week. Use the treadmill's console data to track your running speed. BBC Sport recommends running at a speed of 6 mph or faster. If you can't maintain this running speed, walk briskly. To maximize your treadmill workout, especially if you're short on time, consider interval training. This form of exercise, which alternates between short periods of low and vigorous exertion, burns calories at an elevated rate.

    Remember Strength Training and Diet

    • Although it's possible to lose your gut just by running on the treadmill, making other healthy changes to your lifestyle will increase the rate at which you'll lose weight. Strength training, which elevates your metabolism, should also be a part of your weekly workout. Perform exercises with free weights or do body-weight exercises at least twice a week. Cut back on your caloric intake. Drink water instead of soft drinks, snack on high-protein foods to prevent hunger that causes you to overeat at meal time and jot down everything you consume to increase your accountability to your diet.

    Tips

    • Using a treadmill to help you burn off your belly fat affords you several benefits. Unlike road running, a treadmill workout takes place in a comfortable, climate-controlled area. You can watch TV while you use the machine and also track the distance and speed of your run. To maximize the rate at which you burn calories while running on the treadmill, maintain an upright posture and resist the urge to lean on the machine's handles. Also, try increasing the incline to make the workout more challenging