Incline Walking Breakdown
Walking on an incline can help burn more calories, right? But I hear that it will also make my butt bigger, not smaller…
Basically, does using my treadmill at an incline make my butt big?
This is one of those common questions we get and for good reason. Who wants to put in all of that effort sweating your butt off only to actually be making it bigger? Here at DIY Nation, we wanted to help put this question to rest!
Incline Walking Better?
Blasts Calories
Walking is something we all need to do more of – it can help increase our exercise capacity, improve our heart health, help us blow off some steam, it’s friggin’ easy to do, and can help us torch calories all at a relatively low joint impact!
Naturally, we all want to perform the exercise that burns the most calories, and walking on an incline can burn significantly more calories in a shorter period of time than walking on a flat treadmill!
In fact, for each time you increase the incline of your treadmill you are expending around 4% more energy…
So yes, you will burn more calories when walking on an incline!
Builds and Tone Muscle
Common sense also tells us that if we are working harder walking uphill, it will build and tone our muscles more. Walking at an incline is great for working your glutes, quads, and even hamstrings.
These are some of the larger muscle groups in your body and as they increase in size – I’m not talking massive Hulk size either – they will burn more calories throughout the day for you! So adding a little muscle to these areas is a great thing!
But that will make my butt big – I don’t want more muscle!
Yes, you do! Before you will even be able to see that toned muscle, you have to lose the excess fat covering it! If you are trying to lose a significant amount of weight and trying to burn calories you shouldn’t be that worried about adding muscle to your behind – you should be concentrating on the most effective form of exercise that will help you blast calories in the shortest amount of time.
Incline walking is way more effective than walking on a flat treadmill and more suited for beginners than running!
Trust me, unless you are eating a specialized diet and sticking to a strict workout regiment (among other things) you won’t see that type of muscle hypertrophy.
Instead, you will see tone and definition – not veins bigger than your finger.
Wrap-Up
The bottom line is that walking on an incline can help remove the excess fat throughout your body while helping to build and tone your leg and butt muscles!
For the beginners out there start slow and low – on a 2-3 percent gradient – for 30-45 minutes and try not to hold the rails either! [Note: as always make sure you are cleared by your physician before beginning any exercise program even walking on a treadmill.]
As you get stronger, you can increase the incline!
So does walking on an incline make my butt big? Honestly, unless you are already in pretty decent shape then it’s nothing you need to worry about – now cookies, ice cream, and crap carbs are a different story!
Worry about blasting calories instead! Get at it folks!
More Backside Related Articles:
Can Walking on a Treadmill Make Your Butt Bigger Without an Incline?
Does Incline Walking Build Butt Muscle?
Does Incline Walking Slim Legs or Make Them Larger?
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