Treadmill Time...

It’s hard for me to get motivated to get on that treadmill, but it’s now dark out all the time!  At least I still have the weekends until the first signs of snow and ice!

BUT - remember first and foremost: don't reach for the rails. 

The minute your workout starts to intensify, the temptation is always there: grab the rails.  Whether you're on a stair climber, elliptical or treadmill, reaching out for those support bars can undermine your workout in ways you probably don't realize.

It may seem harmless to get your balance or hold yourself up a little, but it's very easy to support half your weight without really trying that hard. Supporting half your weight with your arms can cut into your calorie burn by as much as 35 percent!  And as counterproductive as those lost calories are, the long-term effects are much worse. The bad thing about it is that you're not activating your core.  You're not working on posture if you're holding on, and you're not engaging your muscles naturally.

If you don't hold on, your neurological system is going to have to fire like crazy, which will give you better balance and reflexes for life!  The fix? Start out slow and engage your arms and core into the motion of the exercise to promote balance and strength. Too often, you get the urge to amp up the speed on the machine and have no choice but to grab the rails for balance.

If you're going so fast that you're having trouble staying up without holding the railings, that tells you that your core isn’t strong enough to go that quickly, and you need to work on that first before you start going so fast that you need to grab the railings! It's better to start off slow, and be able to balance!