Walking is one of the most popular forms of exercise for women – many use it for relaxation and others walk regularly as part of their work. But using walking to improve your cardiovascular health and burn calories is rather more than going for a nice stroll. Fitness walking uses the muscles of the upper and lower body and has many benefits: increasing your metabolic rate so you burn more calories, lowering blood pressure and reducing risk from heart disease and osteoporosis –as well as being great at relieving stress. More good news is that it is low impact and easy on those joints and it doesn’t burn up your cash as well as fat.
These suggestions will help you crank up your walking into a workout – the key is adding variety and intensity:
o Start with 20 to 30 minutes two or three times a week. Build up to at least 30 minutes a day or one hour four times a week.
o Use one of those little pedometers and see how many steps you take every day. Set an initial target for 3,000 steps – but build up to at least 5-6,000 steps. (The good news is that it also logs the calories burnt which is very motivating, though if you’ve only burnt 27 calories at the end of the day you’re in deep trouble if you’ve eaten more than half a diet cracker)
o If you want to increase the power of your workout take faster (not longer) steps and
o Walk up and down hills to build stamina and get sustained cardiovascular workout. If you are a beginner don’t try to take your heart rate too high until you have been exercising for 3 months. If you use a treadmill raise the incline gradually to about 6%.
o You can also increase the intensity of the workout by wearing wrist weights. If you want to firm up your upper body try a pair of wrist weights to get those arm muscles pumping.
o Swing your arms or bend them at 90 degrees and pump them like race walkers do – (if you feel silly go for the weights)
o Have you seen people with wrist poles ? The pushing action works your arms, back and shoulders and can burn up to 20% more calories than walking alone. (Probably not for a short walk around the park.)
o Set yourself short term, attainable goals (eg.I will go out of the office at lunchtime and walk for 10 minutes at least three times this week)
o Keep a log of your time, distance walked and calories burned.
o Reward yourself for achieving your goals (No, not a Mars bar. What about a pair of walking shorts a size smaller ?)