I have a close friend who is a personal trainer and holds a degree in Kinesiology/Physical Fitness and is convinced that a beginner should start out on a treadmill in the following manner:

2 min at 2 mph
4 min at 4 mph

for 20 minutes and then build up to 6mph for the 4min interval and extend the workout to 45 minutes. I told him that even when I was young and active duty military I wouldn't consider such a thing on a regular basis. Active duty training is more about endurance and stamina. I've done a lot of 15 mile road marches carrying 45lbs and 10K runs but his plan seems outrageous to me. I'm comfortable doing 2 minutes at 2 mph, 2 minutes at 3mph, and then rotating 2.5mph for 2 minutes and 4 minutes at 3.5mph cycles for 40 minutes. I sometimes push it to 3.8mph but anything over that is running, and well, I quit running when I left the military :o) It's the time I catch up on the news on all of the channels on tv. Everytime I switch speeds I change channels... :o)




>>I've tried to read a book while on a treadmill. It's impossible (unless you're going at about .5km per hour, and then, what's the point).
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>That's individual. I walk at 3.3 mph and happily read on the treadmill. Listen to my iPod, too.
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>Tamar