What Is the Best Walking Workout on a Treadmill to Increase Your Aerobic Capacity?

Improve Aerobic Capacity

• According to Miriam Nelson, a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston, “walking is really powerful medicine,” but many people need to increase the intensity of their walking workouts. Interval training on the treadmill gives people of all fitness levels an easy way to get more out of their workouts by alternating bursts of speed or hill inclines with periods of rest. The resulting workout increases your heart rate and cardiovascular endurance in as few as two days.

Get More For Less

• Interval workouts typically last 30 minutes or less. A big advantage of interval workouts is achieving the benefits of exercise without working out longer. You might be able to sustain a fast pace or steep incline for a minute or less, but give your body time to recover and then do it again a few more times before your workout is over and the benefits add up. As a result, you do more total work in the same amount of time. According to Michael Bracko, a fellow at the American College of Sports Medicine, you not only burn additional calories by working harder, but you also continue to burn calories at a higher rate for one and a half to 24 hours after an interval training session.

Spice Up Your Workouts

• There are many ways to incorporate intervals into your treadmill workout, so be creative and make them fun. If you’re new to exercise or currently exercise at a low to moderate intensity, longer periods of rest might work best for you. Create your own “TV Time Workout” where you walk at your normal speed and incline during your favorite show and increase your speed and/or incline during the commercials. As your fitness level improves, switch your rest and work periods. For more work, try 60 seconds of increased intensity with 60 seconds of your normal walking pace. For an all-out blast, try incorporating a Tabata interval. In this advanced interval training technique you will alternate 20 seconds of intense work followed by 10 seconds of rest eight times for a total of four minutes.

Safety Considerations

• Since interval training programs may be customized to meet you where you are today, they can be safe for nearly everyone. You -- with the help of your doctor or trainer where appropriate -- decide how long to make your intervals of work and rest. You, too, decide how intense to make those work intervals. Three studies of stroke victims performed by the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Cincinnati show interval training to be more effective than conventional steady-state exercise programs at improving aerobic capacity. Using a heart-rate monitor can help you monitor how hard you are working and track your aerobic capacity improvement. Because of the increased intensity of interval training, a longer-than-normal warm-up and cool-down at a moderate walking pace are important. Limit interval-style workouts to two to three times a week to give your body adequate time to recuperate.