Giuliana's Blog: My Treadmill Workout 6-2-09

I am so happy that many of you liked my diet/meal plan and I appreciate you asking for my workout plan. Here is PART 1 of my Workout Plan: My Treadmill Workout:

I prefer (and recommend) working out first thing in the morning. This is when you feel the lightest and burn the most fat. I get up one hour earlier than I used to and hit the gym. I prefer this so that I don't have the stress of having to go to the gym after work hanging over my head all day. I know, at first it's hard, but after a while, you get used to waking up early and it's much better than going to the gym at the end of the day when all you want to do is go out with your friends or go home and chill out.

I go to the gym 4 to 5 times a week and the first thing I do is hit the treadmill. I used to run for an hour straight but this caused pain in my knees and back. After a while, it didn't work for me anymore and I realized that i wasn't even burning fat anymore. Instead, i now do sprints and loooove them! Sprints are great for many reasons...they burn more fat and faster and they are more tolerable than running at the same exact speed for one hour straight. Yuck!

I start with a 5 minute warm up of a brisk walk at 4.5 on a 2 or 3 incline. Then i put the speed at 6.5 and the incline at 2 for 2 minutes. Then i bring the speed down to 4.5 and bring the incline up to 4 or 5 for 2 minutes. I repeat this until i hit 30-45 minutes...depending on how strong my body is feeling that morning (listen to your body.) These are the speeds and inclines I prefer. I started at 0 incline and 6 sprints...so work your way up and start at speeds/inclines based on your ability, health and strength.

About once a week, on warm Saturday or Sundays, I ditch the treadmill and run outside for 50 minutes to one hour with my husband. We used to listen to Ipods but now we've ditched those when we jog together and chat instead. It's really nice and so great to spend time together while being outside in gorgeous weather and getting in shape.

Also, once a week, i like to mix things up and keep my body guessing by starting with the stairmaster for 10 minutes and then moving over to the treadmill for the above workout. Climbing up that stairmaster is a major way to jumpstart your hear and metabolism and get you burning fat before the treadmill. love it!!! If you don't have a stairmaster at your gym, do the elliptical or bike instead. Anything to mix it up for the first 10 minutes once or twice a week.

If you follow my treadmill workout AND eat a healthy, lean diet, you will for sure see results within 2-3 weeks. With sprints, the weight will shed soooo much faster than before and you will look better, feel better and be overall healthier in no time...promise:)

Good luck. Next up...my Weights Workout Plan..xoxo