5 Treadmill Workouts For Overweight Beginners

These five treadmill workouts for overweight beginners using high-intensity interval training (HIIT) are an excellent way to jumpstart your weight loss and get you on track to being fit, healthy, and active!  

A fat-burning treadmill workout can be the perfect way to begin if you are overweight and just starting your fitness journey.  These workouts are also great for those who simply like the privacy and comfort of working out at home.

Treadmill Workouts to Lose Weight

A treadmill is a great piece of equipment for beginners. When I started exercising, I used an elliptical with my favorite TV show playing to help distract me. 

Indoor equipment like a treadmill is always a nice place to start because you can do it any time. Bad weather or driving to the gym will not be an obstacle to your exercise plan. 

It is important to note that if you are looking specifically for treadmill workouts to lose weight, you will need to be open to more than just a 20 minute treadmill walking workout for weight loss.

Treadmills have a great place in fitness and weight loss, but adding something like this beginners strength training workout for women will be beneficial.

What are the most comfortable shoes for Treadmill workouts?

It’s definitely a personal choice and dependent on any joint, back or foot pain you may have. Personally, I have back pain and these are the only shoes I can wear without hurting my back while on treadmill running. They are amazing and I wish I had them years ago when my back pain started.

There is a great list of the Best Treadmill Running Shoes for Women that you can refer to, and it even has a printable sheet available to use while you are out shopping. Don’t skimp on a good shoe though, it will be a vital part of your success or failure!

How Long Should an Obese Person Walk on a Treadmill?

When starting out, aim for a 30 minute treadmill workout.

In order to burn the most calories, you need to have your heart rate within a specific range.  It’s important to stay in your target fat-burning zone – between 60% and 70% of your max heart rate – for at least 30 minutes to maximize results.

What about treadmill speeds for beginners? Depending on the type of workout you are doing, how fast you run on the treadmill isn’t important.  Rather, in some cases, such as with steady-state cardio, your focus should be on your heart rate. 

An example of steady-state cardio would look like this:

• Start with a steady, slow warm-up at 2 miles per hour for 10 minutes.
• Slightly increase your speed, incline or both to reach your target heart rate range and walk for 15 minutes.
• Slow down to 2 miles per hour for a 5 minute recovery.

As your fitness level increases, you will need to adjust your workouts to continue to challenge your body in order to see results. This is a common reason for the weight loss plateau so many women eventually hit.

Five Treadmill Workouts For Overweight Beginners

For maximum fat burning, in the shortest amount of time, you can focus on HIIT treadmill workouts for beginners.

It’s always a good idea to start HIIT treadmill workouts slowly. Allow yourself time to learn the process and get yourself into better shape.  

Beginner treadmill workouts can be discouraging at first. Careful consideration should always be made to match the workout to your fitness level. A beginner’s exercise program should be challenging, not impossible. 

I know it might seem intimidating, but don’t overthink it and I promise it won’t be too difficult to start!

Here are 5 great treadmill workouts to lose weight for beginners. 

Workout 1: 30 Minute Beginner Treadmill Workout

• Walk at 2 miles per hour (10 minutes)
• Jog at 4 miles per hour (1 minute)
• Walk 2 miles per hour (5 minutes)
• Jog at 4 miles per hour (1 minute)
• Walk at 2 miles per hour (5 minutes)
• Jog at 4 miles per hour (1 minute)
• Walk at 2 miles per hour (7 minutes)

Workout 2:  Quick Get it Done

• Set your treadmill speed to 2 miles per hour and walk (5 minutes)
• Increase your treadmill to 3 miles per hour (1 minute)
• Increase the speed to 4 miles per hour (1 minute)
• Increase the speed to 3 miles per hour (1 minute)
• Reduce speed back to 2 miles per hour for recovery (10 minutes)

Workout 3: Up and Over the Hill

• Start with a warm-up speed at 2 miles per hour (5 min)
• Increase speed to 3 miles per hour with a slight increase in incline (2 min)
• Increase incline to slightly more, same speed (2 min)
• Decrease incline, increase to 4 miles per hour (2 min)
• Increase incline, reduce speed to 3 miles per hour (2 min)
• Increase speed to 4 miles per hour, same incline (2 min)
• Decrease incline to 0, decrease speed to 3 miles per hour (3 min)

Workout 4: Long and Steady Stroll

• Start with a warm-up speed at 2 miles per hour (5 min)
• Increase speed to 3 miles per hour (10 min)
• Increase speed to 3.5 miles per hour (10 min)
• Increase speed to 4 miles per hour (5 min)
• Decrease speed to 2 miles per hour (5 min)

Workout 5: Max Effort

• Start with a warm-up speed at 2 miles per hour (10 min)
• Increase speed to 4 miles per hour (1 min)
• Decrease speed to 2 miles per hour (2 min)
• Increase speed to 4 miles per hour (1 min)
• Decrease speed to 2 miles per hour (2 min)
• Increase speed to 4 miles per hour (1 min)
• Decrease speed to 2 miles per hour (2 min)
• Increase speed to 4 miles per hour (1 min)
• Decrease speed to 2 miles per hour (2 min)

What To Do After Your Treadmill Workout

A treadmill workout is just like any other workout. To make sure you get the full benefit of the exercise, it’s important that you know what to do after.  

• Recover! First and foremost, make sure you follow through on the complete workout, including the recovery step.  
• Stretch! Next, take a few minutes to stretch while your muscles are still warm, as this will help lessen muscle soreness. 
• Hydrate! Your body sweats while you are exercising, which means you are losing water, aka, hydration.  Be sure to replenish your fluids once you are done working out.
• Take a shower!  Sure, no one wants to be stinky all day after a workout, but the truth is, a shower can help more than just your smell. A cool shower after a workout can help reduce inflammation and promote muscle recovery.  Additionally, staying sweaty can lead to bacteria growth and skin breakouts.
• Eat healthy foods! If you are hungry after your workout, do not head for the snack food cabinet.  Instead, fuel your body with healthy foods that will assist in your health and recovery such as greek yogurt, apples & peanut butter, or tuna on whole wheat. Having protein and good carbs after a workout will help your muscles recover in a way that turns your body into a fat-burning machine. Learn more about protein after your workout here. 

Treadmill Weight Loss Plan for Beginners

These treadmill workouts for beginners are a great start for your weight loss plan. There are, of course, other exercises and equipment that you can use as a beginner, but treadmill workouts are an easy way to break into fitness.

Don’t neglect to fuel your body properly. It is true that you can never out-train poor nutrition. If you aren’t familiar with healthy nutrition to support your weight loss, learning to balance your macros is a great place to start.

Finally, remember to switch up your workouts every few days. Here are more resources for you as your journey begins!

Get more treadmill workouts here:

• HIIT Treadmill Workout for Beginners to Start Losing Weight
• Effective Treadmill Workouts for Any Fitness Level
• Beginner Treadmill Workout + Mediterranean Turkey Burgers
• Everything You Need to Know to Effectively Use Protein for Weight Loss