"Is walking exercise?" people often ask me. Generally, I'm prone to respond with, "walking is good exercise for the elderly, disabled, pregnant or extremely overweight." If you're reasonably healthy and have little to no restricted mobility, then I'd normally say that it's not good exercise if you are wanting to lose weight or burn calories. Of course, there are a lot of benefits to walking - the outdoor air, the serenity to just take in your surroundings, and of course, walking is better than sitting.
So, is it possible to walk for fitness? Yes, if you do it correctly. There is more than one method, but the one I'm about to describe is the one I like.
Always stretch before your walk.
The first 10 minutes should be treated as a warm-up, so don't go too quickly just yet.
Then walk as fast as you can for 2 city blocks. Then return to your warm-up pace for 2 minutes. Continue the patter of 2 blocks of fast walking and 2 minutes of your average walking pace. Do this routine 8-12 times.
The last 10 minutes should be your cool down pace, followed by stretching and water.
If you incorporate this style into your walking repertoire, you should start feeling and looking better soon.
Average walking won't get you anywhere. You have to earn it.
Get your heart rate up and make this part of your regular routine.
3 comments:
Good advice. I have always wondered how much walking does for one's health - especially on some of these big hills in our city. Thanks for the advice on how to walk for the best fitness outcome.
This is only one method of walking for fitness. Generally walking won't do much, especially if you are mobile and generally healthy. You have to get your heart rate up. Some people carry water bottles in their hands to make it more challenging or wear ankle weights. You can even make up a method that works for you, as long as you get your heart rate up. That's the bottom line. Do you have any suggestions? What do you do? Also, downhill isn't that hard, but uphill is.
True...there has to be something interesting about the walking to actually see some health benefit. like those crazy olympic walkers that do that super wavy hip thang. damm!
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