Maybe you’ve done it: Grabbing a treadmill’s front or side, leaning forward, pushing your feet out behind you on the moving tread. But why not just walk regular?
Every so often I see people using a treadmill this way.
They believe that holding fast to the bar in front or gripping the side rails, while deliberately pushing their feet into the tread and then pushing their feet behind them in an exaggerated way, produces more of a workout than does a typical walk on the machine.
So which is the better walking workout, then?
Pushing Feet Out on Treadmill While Holding on vs. Normal Walking
If you’re holding onto the treadmill for the duration of your time on the machine, this alone is the deal breaker.
Holding onto the machine will sabotage your efforts.
So if, while clinging to the front bar or side rails, you’re “pushing” out hard with your feet, even with a wide stride, this approach is inferior to just a typical walk without holding on.
Nothing Beats the Basic Simple Approach
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Whether your goal is weight loss, more stamina or better cardiovascular health, your best bet by far is to stick to the basics: walking normal on a treadmill – and without holding on (other than momentarily for water or a heart rate check).
In real life walking – be it on the job, around the house all day, with your dog, shopping or sightseeing – you wouldn’t be pushing against something with your hands and pushing your feet to the ground behind you.
You might assume that pushing a loaded cart or stroller counts as “pushing against something.”
However, the difference between pushing a loaded cart and holding fast to a treadmill is that the former is done to support the user’s body and provide leverage to the feet.
- That’s a significant difference, whereas when pushing a loaded wheelchair up a ramp, for instance, you’re not doing this to support your body or leverage your legs.
- You’re pushing an object through space. So that’s the difference!
Though holding onto and pushing against a treadmill’s front bar or rails enables the user to push their feet against the tread and exaggerate the stride behind themselves, this doesn’t mean that this leg motion is superior to basic normal walking.
If you want more stamina and ease walking many steps throughout the day, or whatever your goal, then you need to mimic real walking when on a treadmill.
Though the moving tread doesn’t 100% replicate everyday surfaces that we walk on, you can still come close to mimicking real walking by employing a normal stride, normal posture and a normal gait while taking steps on the moving tread – and without holding onto the machine.
This comes close enough to typical everyday walking that it will improve your stamina and heart health plus help you achieve whatever other goals you may have.
Holding to the machine and pushing your feet out doesn’t come close to simulating everyday walking.
- It won’t improve your walking in any way, shape or form.
- This kind of walking skewers posture and the natural gait pattern.
- There’s just no point in it whatsoever.
- Just walk normal!
What about weight loss?
The calorie counter on a treadmill will run as long as the treadmill motor is going.
The counter is based on speed and incline. Thus, if you put your chihuahua on the tread, the counter would show the same number of calories “burned.”
Don’t believe me? Turn on a treadmill but don’t get on it. You’ll see the calories adding up!
If you want weight loss via walking on a treadmill, the most superior way to achieve this is with interval training – without holding on, of course.
Interval training is that of switching back and forth between brief periods of intense walking and slightly longer periods of easy walking for recovery.
A work/recovery set is called a cycle. For best results, complete eight cycles between a warmup and cool-down.
How to Make Walking Hard on a Treadmill
Forget the gimmicky foot pushing.
Incline Walking: Start by adjusting the treadmill’s incline to mimic walking uphill, which targets the glutes, hamstrings and calves more than does flat walking.
A moderate incline (5-10%) is effective, but you can increase it further for added intensity.
Walking on an incline boosts calorie burn and challenges your lower body more than does walking on a flat surface. It also taps into the low back for spinal stabilization.
Interval Training: Alternate between high intensity intervals, using an incline, and recovery periods (slow walking at a lower incline).
For example, walk briskly for one or two minutes at a steep incline, then recover at a slow pace for one to three minutes.
- You should be breathing very heavily at the end of each work interval.
- If you’re not, you’re not working hard enough.
- Either raise the incline or go faster to achieve feeling out of breath at the end of each work interval.
To maximize the benefits, avoid holding onto the treadmill; I can’t stress this too much.
Holding on will reduce workout effectiveness by limiting your body’s engagement and balance. It’ll burn 20% fewer calories.
Remember, the calorie display is based on speed and incline, not the user’s effort.
Focus on maintaining good posture, using your arms for momentum, and walking with purpose to get the most out of your treadmill session.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness, where she was also a group fitness instructor, she trained clients of all ages and abilities for fat loss and maintaining it, muscle and strength building, fitness, and improved cardiovascular and overall health.
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