If you are thinking about what you can do to get in shape and lose weight, you should consider walking on treadmills. Many people have walked their way to fitness and weight loss-and away from bad health-using treadmills. Treadmills are great machines for someone who is new to exercise because they are made to accommodate any person's fitness condition and they grow with you.

One of the main reasons that people opt for walking on a treadmill, instead of going somewhere to walk or walking outside, is having your own treadmill takes away exercise excuses. You can't blame Mother Nature for not working out, and you can't say you are too tired to travel to your walking destination, when a treadmill is in your home. Another reason many people purchase their own personal treadmills is they can workout when it's convenient to them-day or night.

If you are new to walking, you may wonder how long you should walk. The answer is not universal. It depends on your overall fitness and health condition. It is generally recommended that you try to walk from 30 to 60 minutes at a pace that will take you to 50-70 percent of your maximum heart rate.

To get your approximate maximum heart rate you simply have to apply the formula of 220 minus your age. Let's say you are 35 years old, then you would take 220 minus 35 and you would get 185. Fifty to seventy percent of that is 93-130. According to the expert guidelines, your goal should be to keep your heart rate between 93-130 beats per minute throughout your workout.

If this sounds too difficult for you, don't panic. Simply cut those minutes into blocks. It may be easier for you to walk on your treadmill three times a day for ten minutes. The most important thing is that you try to walk every day, or as many days as you can out of the week and to keep your heart rate in that 50-70 percent zone during your workouts.

It won't take long before you will start to see results from walking on a treadmill. Your routine will start to become easier-and when it does it's time to increase your walking intensity. As your endurance increases, so will your maximum heart rate. To make walking on a treadmill work for you, try to keep your heart rate within 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. This will ensure that your fitness and cardiovascular system continues to increase, too.

Whether you haven't exercised in weeks, months or ever-it's never too late to start treadmill walking for fitness and weight loss success. Today's treadmills are much like personal trainers because they can monitor your heart rate, calories burned, walking speed, distance and more. Whether you walk, jog or run, treadmills can accommodate anyone and help you reach your goals!