Each time I get on the treadmill, I feel confident—until the questions creep in. Am I standing up properly? Am I supposed to be engaging my arms more? I try to concentrate, but then catch myself wrapping my arms around the front of the machine or looking down at my feet. Running outdoors comes so naturally, but the treadmill? It has me doubting myself constantly. I catch myself relaxing, releasing the handrails, and keeping my eyes forward. Honestly, though, each session seems like a battle of mini size between what I think I'm doing correctly and what I am possibly doing wrong!

Treadmill exercise is a standard of indoor cardiovascular exercise, providing a simple means of staying active in any weather. Unfortunately, most individuals inadvertently create negative habits when exercising on the treadmill, negating the full potential of their workouts and even putting them at increased risk of injury. Both casual walkers and experienced runners alike can reap the benefits of avoiding these typical treadmill errors by maximizing performance, burning calories, and ensuring they have correct posture.

1. Grabbing the Handrails

Handrails are intended as a source of support, but using them excessively undermines your form and the intensity of your workout. Gripping the rails changes your body weight to an unnatural position, compresses your stride, and makes it less effective. It also eliminates the natural arm movement involved in a great cardio session.

How to Correct It:

Release the handrails and walk or run at a pace where you're able to balance without holding on. If you have a medical condition where support is needed, work with a physical therapist to keep proper posture when using the handrails.

2. Running Without a Plan

Merely jumping onto the treadmill and hitting "start" is not an effective form of exercise. Without organization, you may not be challenging yourself enough, and you will only get mediocre results. Lack of diversity can make workouts seem stagnant and uninvigorating too.

How to Correct It:

Schedule your treadmill workouts with a purpose. Alternate among intervals, hill repeats, or speed changes to tax the varying muscle groups and increase endurance. For example, walk and then sprint for two minutes, alternating back and forth to maintain high heart rates and excitement in your workout.

3. Looking Down Rather than Ahead

It’s common to see treadmill users staring down at their feet or fixating on the control panel. Unfortunately, this habit can strain your neck, shoulders, and lower back, leading to long-term posture problems.

How to Correct It:

Maintain your head up and eyes forward, similar to when you're running outside. If viewing a screen for fun, place it at eye level to prevent looking down or tilting your head back.

4. Hugging the Front of the Treadmill

Most treadmill users prefer to stay too close to the front console, restricting their natural stride. This not only impacts performance but also heightens the risk of accidental falls, particularly if you trip or require a quick balance adjustment.

How to Correct It:

Stand in the middle of the treadmill belt with your natural running stance. Provide yourself with sufficient room to fully extend your legs and establish a proper stride pattern.

5. No Arm Movement

When running or walking outside, your arms swing naturally to stabilize your stride. When using a treadmill, most individuals lock their arms, allow them to hang loose, or grab the sides, lowering the effectiveness of the workout.

How to Correct It:

Use your arms in a natural swing while bending them at a 90-degree angle. Pumping your arms serves to create momentum, enabling your legs to move with better efficiency and enhance total calorie burn.

6. Sticking to One Speed

Walking or running at a constant speed throughout your workout can be comfortable, but it doesn't push your body hard enough. Your muscles get used to it over time, and you hit plateaus in progress.

How to Correct It:

Vary your treadmill workout with speed changes and incline adjustments. Experiment with high-intensity interval training (HIIT), where you switch between high-speed sprints and jog recovery, to build endurance and burn more calories.

7. Overlooking the Incline Feature

Most users of treadmills stay on a flat surface, which does not activate major muscles such as the glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Walking or running uphill mimics outdoor terrain and is a better workout.

How to Correct It:

Gradually add inclines to your workout. Begin with a 1-2% incline and progress to higher inclines as your endurance increases. Incline walking is particularly effective for building leg muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness.

Effective use of a treadmill takes more than just a leg movement—it takes proper stance, strategic intention, and engagement. The treadmill is an excellent fitness tool if used properly, so invest in changing your routines and maximizing your indoor running.

Mobility and independence are two things that keep people healthy, however, with age, as bones weaken and muscle is lost, elderly become more dependent. This condition is called sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss. India is finally focusing on this and have now new guidelines to warn people against it.

The Geriatric Society of India released country's first 'Indian Guidelines for the Evaluation and Management of Sarcopenia'. These guidelines are a combination of recommendations by experts across multiple specialties, including geriatric medicine, orthopedics, endocrinology, physiotherapy and nutrition. These guidelines aim to help doctors detect and treat muscle loss early. The aim is to not let elderly compromise with their independence.

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What Is Sarcopenia?

Sarcopenia literally translates to 'loss of flesh'. Medically, it refers to gradual decline in muscle mass, strength and physical function with aging. While it is often overlooked, it is also the major reason for many fractures and hospitalizations of older adults, and sometimes, even death.

India is expected to have around 319 million people aged over 60 by 2050, which is one-fifth of the population. It could be concerning as they are at risk of sarcopenia. Studies have also shown that the number has increased from 8-18 per cent to 25-40 per cent adults, especially hospitalization cases. Experts point out that those with chronic diseases like diabetes are at a higher risk.

What Are The First Indian Guidelines On Muscle Loss or Sarcopenia?

Dr OP Sharma, who led guidelines said that muscle health is most important for healthy aging. "Strength preserves dignity. Early detection saves independence," he said. Dr Sharma also noted that the sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition and chronic illnesses are accelerating this condition among seniors.

The guidelines also advise doctors to look for warning signs in patients, which include weak grip strength, slower walking speed, or difficulty getting up from a chair. There are also screening tools like SARC-F questionnaire, which could help identify those at risk.

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The ray of hope here is that sarcopenia could be prevented or slowed that too with simple lifestyle changes.

What Lifestyle Changes Could Prevent Sarcopenia?

• Strength training exercises
• Adequate protein consumption
• Correcting deficiency including vitamin D and calcium

Doctors are also advising to eat a balanced diet, which includes protein, fats, green vegetables, and pulses. Dr Raju Vaishya of Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals said, "India is a sarcopenic nation". He pointed that everyone needs to be aware about muscle health, however this awareness remains low in the country.

Dr Randeep Guleria said the guidelines aim to brings muscle health into routine medical care. "They bridge science with clinical wisdom, making sarcopenia visible in everyday practice."

A new Nature Human Behaviour (2026) study suggests that single-session psychological exercises lasting less than 10 minutes can lead to measurable decreases in depression symptoms even one month later.

Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the world. Every year, hundreds of millions of people suffer from depression, and many are unable to get therapy because of cost, stigma and the dearth of mental-health professionals.

Symptoms include excessive sadness, depression often includes fatigue, changes in appetite, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating and feelings of hopelessness. Treatment requires professional guidance for diagnosis and management.

A 10-Minute Intervention With Lasting Effects

All the brief interventions took less than 10 minutes to complete and were designed to teach practical coping skills that are commonly used in psychotherapy. Some exercises helped participants to reframe negative thoughts, while others focused on motivation, goal-setting or making sense of things by helping others. Participants completed surveys measuring their well-being immediately after the session and again one month later.

The results were striking: while many exercises boosted motivation and hope immediately, two interventions - Interactive Cognitive Reappraisal and Finding Focus - showed measurable reductions in depression symptoms even after a month. On average, participants experienced about a four percent greater reduction in depression scores compared with the control group.

Although the improvement may appear small, researchers note that brief, scalable interventions could reach millions of people who currently lack access to mental-health care as they can be completed in a few minutes and delivered online, these exercises may allow people to take initial steps toward better mental health, especially those waiting for professional help or unwilling to ask for help.

The scientists also stressed that these activities are not intended to substitute for therapy, but should be seen as readily available tools to help with emotional health.

Exercise and Mental Health: A Growing Body of Evidence

Previous research also shows that a quick burst of activity can make you feel better from other research too. A British Journal of Health Psychology 2024 study found that just 10 minutes of daily mindfulness practice significantly improved well-being and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety among more than 1,200 participants from 91 countries.

Similarly, the US National Institutes of Health (2019) reviews suggest that the physical activity itself may help improve mood and depressive symptoms, strengthening the relationship between movement and mental health.

Collectively, these findings suggest that even small doses of mental or physical activity may lead to psychological benefits.

A Small Step That Can Make a Difference

Depression can make people feel trapped and out of control. The good news of the new research is that it suggests that big changes aren’t always necessary to move forward.

Sometimes, doing a small task, like spending 10 minutes learning a new coping skill or doing a quick mental exercise, is enough to change the way you think and gradually improve mood.

As researchers investigate these brief interventions, one thing is becoming clear: when it comes to mental health, few minutes matter more than we think.

British broadcaster Gabby Logan has revealed that her 20-year-old daughter Lois has been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal condition that may require her to step back from high-intensity endurance sport, including extreme long-distance running.

Speaking on her Mid-Point podcast, Logan said the diagnosis came after medical consultations about her daughter’s health and training. During the appointment, a specialist advised Lois to avoid “extreme running,” prompting mixed emotions in the family, concern about the condition, but also relief about scaling back punishing physical goals.

What PCOS Means for Athletes

PCOS is one of the most common endocrine disorders in women of reproductive age, affecting an estimated 8–13 per cent globally. It occurs when the body produces higher levels of androgens (male-type hormones) and often involves insulin resistance.

The condition can cause irregular periods, acne, excessive hair growth, weight changes and fertility challenges. Many patients also have difficulty regulating blood sugar, increasing long-term risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

While exercise is widely recommended as a cornerstone of PCOS management, helping improve insulin sensitivity, metabolism and mood, specialists say the type and intensity of exercise matter.

Why Extreme Endurance Could Be A Problem

Doctors cautioned Lois against extreme endurance events such as half-marathons because prolonged, high-intensity training can significantly elevate cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone.

In people with PCOS, hormonal balance is already fragile. Persistently high cortisol may:

• worsen insulin resistance
• disrupt ovulation further
• aggravate fatigue and inflammation
• intensify menstrual irregularities

In other words, although movement is beneficial, chronic physical stress can sometimes counteract the hormonal stability patients are trying to restore.

Moderate-intensity exercise, brisk walking, strength training and shorter runs, is generally considered more supportive for hormone regulation than sustained high-intensity endurance workloads.

From Half Marathon To Shorter Goals

Logan previously completed the London Landmarks Half-Marathon with Lois in 2024, describing the preparation as mentally and physically demanding. The pair had hoped to repeat the experience, but the new medical advice has changed those plans.

Instead, they now intend to focus on shorter runs together.

The television presenter admitted she felt a surprising sense of relief at the specialist’s recommendation, recalling how intense the training had been for both of them.

A sporting life continues — just differently

Lois, a competitive showjumper and university student, has long balanced academics with elite sport. She has ridden horses since childhood and competed at national levels, later even participating in a charity jockey race — an experience she described as “brutal.”

Her diagnosis does not end her athletic pursuits, but it reshapes them.

Medical experts increasingly stress that PCOS management is not about stopping exercise but tailoring it. Sustainable training, adequate recovery, and balanced nutrition often produce better long-term hormonal outcomes than relentless endurance performance.

For athletes with PCOS, the goal shifts from pushing physical limits to supporting physiological stability — a change that, doctors say, can ultimately protect both performance and health.