Everything you need to know before kicking off a walking workout plan.
Walking is a great way to get in shape—and it’s perfect for fitness newbies and devotees alike. Aside from a quality pair of walking shoes, there’s no fancy equipment and getting started is as easy as putting one foot in front of the other—literally.
But having some pointers in your fitness arsenal can help you stay on track with your walking plan and help you see and feel results sooner rather than later.
(Discover more easy ways to shed kilos with the Off-the-couch Weight Loss Guide)
Here are a few tips and things to keep in mind as you ramp up your walking routine:
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Write down your why.
Sticking to a new fitness routine can be tough and sometimes you may be tempted to skip your workouts. While that’s completely normal, it can help you stay on track if you can easily remind yourself why you wanted to get in shape in the first place. Maybe you want to be able to keep up with your kids without getting out of breath, or perhaps you want to lower your cholesterol. Whatever it is that motivates you, write it down somewhere safe—like your phone. This way you can refer back to it when you need some extra motivation.
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Know the benefits.
Knowing a bit about the health benefits of walking can also help you stay on track. Not only can walking benefit your heart, bones and joints, it can also prolong your life. In a 10-year study of 650,000 adults over 40, those who got 75 minutes of moderate activity, like walking, weekly, lived on average, nearly two years longer than their sedentary counterparts. Walkers who logged just over an hour a day gained four and a half years!
But that’s not all; taking an hour-long walk three times a week has been shown to improve self-esteem, which can help you feel better about yourself and your appearance. Talk about a win-win!
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Set a goal.
While fitting in any amount of walking into your weekly routine is a win, how long—and how often—you walk can affect how much you’ll get out of it. It is recommended we get at least 150 minutes, or 2.5 hours, of moderate aerobic activity, like walking, weekly. As a new walker, this is an appropriate target.
Set a weekly goal, and do your very best to stick with it. As you improve your fitness, you may want to gradually add more time to your weekly walking workouts.
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Break things up.
How you fit in your fitness is entirely up to you. You can go on daily 22-minute walks, or go on four 38-minute walks. You can even go on two short, 11-minute walks each day if that seems more manageable.
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Move at a pace that challenges you.
Your walking pace will vary depending on a number of factors including your height, age and fitness level. The terrain—weather you’re talking on smooth pavement, or on a rocky hill—will also play a role.
No matter how fast you walk, though, make sure you’re moving at a pace that will challenge your heart and improve your health. You should be able to hold a conversation, but not be moving so leisurely that you could sing a song. If you feel your body begin to get warm and sense that your heart rate is slightly elevated those are other signs you’re moving at an appropriate pace.
So, what’s that mean in terms of kilojoules burned? A 5’5 40-year-old woman moving at this pace would burn nearly 1250kjs per hour. This is about what you’d find in a ¾ cup of brown rice topped with half a chicken breast.
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