Qusetion about treadmill and incline

[Bea]

I walk on the treadmill at about 4.4 mph. Is it better for me to put my incline at 9.0 and hold on while walking, or lower it to about 3.5 and walk without holding on? I want to do whatever is best for toning. Thanks for any insight.

 

[pixiedust27]

I think it's probably better to put it at 3.5 and not hold on to the side rails. That way you have a complete range of motion from swinging your arms. As you get used to that incline and build up the muscles you'll be able to gradually increase the incline.
I think that when you hold on to the handrails you're supporting yourself a lot with your upper body and then you're not toning your lower body as much. I also think that needing to hold on to the handrails means that you're doing the exercise at a level that's too difficult and you'll be more prone to injury.
It's just my two cents! Good luck!

 

[gshoemate]

When I started on the treadmill I walked at a lower incline at around 4.00 mph. Then I decied to try differant variations to see what worked best for me. Right now I walk at an incline of 11 at 3.9 mph and about every 5 minutes I run at 5.3 mph for 2 minutes. While walking I do hold on. But very lightly only to keep my balance. I find that I burn more calories this way.

Then after 67 minutes on the treadmill, I do 20 on the stairmaster and then head to the weight circuit for my toning.

You might want to try differant variations and see what works best for you. I tend to get into a zone where I really push myself hard.

 

[Bea]

I hold on very lightly, only for balance. The problem with my gym is there is a 20 minute time limit per machine, and more times than not, there is someone signed up after me to use it. So in my 20 minutes, I need to find the most intense toning, fat burning scenario I can. I want to make every minute count