If you pack a little more weight than you’d like – or that your doctor would like – it’s understandable while you’d want to lose it.
Besides, 79% of people are dissatisfied with their body shapes. You might be one of them.
For example, you might like your skinny arms but dislike that extra tissue surrounding your middle. Alternatively, you might be in awe of your muscular legs but want to remove excess back fat.
So, does running on a treadmill burn that body fat you wish would go straight to hell?
The answer is yes, but you must consider the factors that affect that fat-loss journey – including buying the wrong treadmill for your needs.
We’ll discuss all that in the article below.
Does Running on a Treadmill Burn Belly Fat?
Studies show that running can eliminate belly fat comprehensively and in the long term. Thus, running reduces visceral belly fat for good.
You have to keep up with it, though.
Scientists at the University of Alabama conducted a study during which participants’ calorie intakes were decreased by 800 kcal/day.
- Half of them ate 800 calories less.
- The other half had to burn those calories through exercise.
After the study, participants who exercised were instructed to keep up their workouts. Those who continued had 33% less deep-tissue fat than those who dieted, even though these people gained some weight too.
Does Running on a Treadmill Burn Lower Belly Fat?
Yes, running on a treadmill can burn lower belly fat, too, if you’re to consider the facts we discussed in the previous session.
However, not all treadmill running acts in the same way on your lower belly fat.
Studies show that HIIT workouts burn more lower belly fat than steady-state cardio. The reasoning behind this involves cortisol.
Cortisol is a stress hormone that’s shown to increase when you’re doing steady-state cardio. And that increase in cortisol is also connected to stubborn belly fat.
Imagine doing everything right, eating correctly, and exercising – but seeing no results.
That’s incredibly frustrating.
So, choose a treadmill with multiple in-built HIIT programs so that you can select the one you like.
Even better: purchase a running band with incline. Running at an angle is proven to burn 70% more fat.
Besides, if you don’t feel like running one day, even simple walking at an incline will engage your lower abs more.
Pro tip to burn more stomach fat: Monitor your pulse to exercise in the fat-burning zone. When your pulse climbs enough, your body starts using your fat stores for fuel instead of burning carbs.
Pick a treadmill with built-in handlebar pulse sensors or at least one with Bluetooth compatibility to a chest strap.
Does Running on a Treadmill Burn Thigh Fat?
Running on a treadmill can burn leg fat because your legs are doing hard work. So, the more lower-body muscles you build, the more fat you’ll eliminate from that area.
Remember: Increasing your muscle mass accelerates your metabolism. Thus, your leg muscles will help you burn fat stores in the area.
However, remember that not all running has the same effects. Just like we said before, the best exercises to burn thigh fat are:
- Running at an incline
- HIIT
- Exercising in your fat-burning zone
Does Running on a Treadmill Burn Face Fat?
Firstly, if you have a puffy face that’s probably not (just) fat, it’s mostly water accumulated in your face. That water retention can be caused by various factors that usually boil down to leading a sedentary lifestyle.
According to science, this lifestyle messes with your:
- Sleep quality
- Hormones
- Blood and lymph circulation
And that’s to name a few of the adverse effects. Of course, there are many more.
Running on the treadmill is proven to alleviate all these issues:
- Running improves blood and lymph circulation to reduce puffy eyes.
- Exercise increases sleep quality while sleeping issues cause water retention in your whole body.
- Running improves your mood, thus reducing stress levels and associated hormonal problems that cause accelerated face fat gain (e.g., hyperthyroidism, diabetes, PCOS, and more).
Does Running on a Treadmill Burn Arm Fat?
It’s less likely for your treadmill to target arm fat directly. Sure, if you exercise in your fat-burning heart rate zone and do mostly HIIT, you can burn more body fat.
But you’ll have to sculpt your arms separately.
That means strength/resistance/body weight training specifically for the upper body. The problem is when you don’t have enough time to exercise every day.
So, you may not want to run on the treadmill Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, then pump the weights at the gym during the remaining days.
Here’s the solution:
Purchase a treadmill with incorporated resistance bands for the upper body. Make sure that the running band also features multiple built-in total-body workouts.
That way, you can exercise only three times per week but make the most of every workout.
Does Running on a Treadmill Burn Back Fat?
Yes, running on the treadmill burns back fat, especially if you’re doing HIIT and elevating your heart rate correctly.
Also:
Your back muscles are essential when you’re running because they have to engage to help you maintain a correct posture. This constant contraction can increase your back muscle mass.
Besides, running entails some twisting motions that sculpt your back muscles too.
Together, twisting and contracting your muscles improve your body composition and eliminate the fat stored on your back.
In Conclusion – How to use a Treadmill to Burn Fat
Researchers agree that running on the treadmill can help you burn fat and sculpt your body. However, the consensus is that you’ll have to maintain an active lifestyle. You don’t want to give up running as soon as you see some results.
Besides, you’ll also have to clean up your diet as much as possible by reducing junk, highly processed, non-nutritive foods.
Of course, you’ll have to pick the best treadmill on the market.
That doesn’t mean an expensive running band, but one that’s specifically created to reduce body fat.
These treadmills feature multiple HIIT workouts, pulse sensors, incline, and resistance bands. Choose a running band that works for your needs depending on the type of fat you’re trying to eliminate.
Mary advocates for one powerful idea: fitness is about challenging yourself, but it’s not a race against the clock. She wants people to understand that the best fitness equipment doesn’t have to be expensive or very popular. The best workouts and machines should always fit your style and needs, not the other way around. So, Mary’s dedication and hard work are the engines that keep this website going.
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