Countdown to fitness

Get the most out of your 30 minutes on the treadmill

By Elaine Paoloni | amNewYork Features Editor

January 31, 2007

"The treadmill is the go-to calorie burner in the gym because it not only provides a great cardiovascular workout, it works different muscle groups as your stride changes," says Laura Foss, a personal trainer at The Gym.

But doing the same routine -- including walking or running at the same pace -- every time you get on the treadmill won't keep your body challenged. Foss reccomends mixing things up and adding some strength-training.

The following 30-minute workout aims to burn as many calories as possible by incorporating basic strength exercises with the treadmill. You spend three minutes on the treadmill tackling hills, agility work and speed drills, followed by approximately two minutes off the treadmill using dumbbells to integrate basic toning exercises.

"This workout challenges you on multiple levels, including incline walking, running and lateral work," Foss says. "Incorporating weights into your cardiovascular workout gives you the best of both worlds, an increased metabolism and one crucial bonus for women is that weights increase and restore bone density while also increasing lean muscle mass."

Let the countdown begin:

0:00-3:00
Warm up by starting the treadmill at a speed of 3.5 and an incline of 0. At 1:00, increase the incline to 5, at 2:00, increase the incline to 10.

3:00-5:00
Carefully step off the treadmill. Hold 3- to 5-pound dumbbells at your sides and stand up tall with your feet hip width apart. Raise your arms up to shoulder height, then lower them back to your sides, palms down. Do 15-20 reps.

5:00-8:00
Carefully step back onto the treadmill. Set the speed to 3.5 and the incline to 5. At 6:00, increase the incline to 10. At 7:00, increase the incline to 15.

8:00-10:00
Repeat the side arm raises explained in section 3:00-5:00.

10:00-13:00
Get ready for a three-minute jog. Set the incline to 2 and the speed to 5. At 11:00, increase the speed to 5.5, then to 6 for the last minute.

13:00-15:00
Carefully step off the treadmill. Holding 3- to 5-pound dumbbells. stand with your arms extended, palms up, and curl the weights toward your shoulders. Slowly lower ther weights. Do 15-20 reps.

15:00-18:00
Push your jog a little harder: Set the incline to 2 and the speed to 5.2. At 16:00, increase the speed to 5.7, then to 6.2 for the last minute.

18:00-20:00
Repeat the biceps curls explained in section 13:00-15:00.

20:00-23:00
Add some lateral and backward walking/ jogging. For one minute, walk laterally on the treadmill, making sure not to let your feet cross over. At 21:00, hold on to the side bars and make a quarter turn clockwise so you are walking backward on the treadmill for the next minute. At 22:00, hold on to the bars again and make another quarter turn clockwise so that you are walking lateral on the treadmill (in the opposite direction as before) for the last minute. Start with a speed of 1.5 and increase your lateral and backward walking to a jog at a speed of 3.5 when you get used to the movement.

23:00-25:00
Carefully step off the treadmill. Hold 3- to 5-pound dumbbells, and stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Extend your arms in front of you at shoulder height, palms down. Quickly rotate your wrists inward as far as possible, then outward. Do 60 reps.

25:00-28:00
Repeat the lateral and backward walking/jogging explained in section 20:00-23:00.

28:00-30:00
Repeat the wrist rotations explained in section 23:00-25:00.