Get Fit Lab - For Your Health and Fitness

Walking is one of the easiest ways to get fit. Afterall we already know how. We just need to take the first step … and then the next.

Benefits of Walking

Walking can not only help you lose weight but also lead you to a healthier lifestyle.

It improves your posture, strengthens your cardiovascular system, tones you all over, elevates your mood, delays signs of aging, and disease prevention. As with any good exercise program, it helps reduce your risk of various cancers, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes and more.

Walking has the added benefit of being a low impact activity. It produces minimal weight-bearing stress on your joints. Many other activities can increase your risk of injury.

Shoes are the only piece of equipment you need. Choose good running or walking shoes that fit properly and ideally ones that provide some arch- and ankle-support. In a pinch, you can use your regular shoes provided they cushion your feet and support your ankle.

How to Start Walking

Start small and easy. Some walking programs ask you to walk a certain distance and at a certain pace. Depending on your fitness level, this may be too much, too soon. Instead walk a distance and at a pace that is comfortable to you. Your main goal should be to just get out and walk on a regular basis.

Initially walking may consist of 10, 15 or 30 minute sessions throughout the day. Don’t worry too much about your session length or distance – it all counts. In time, you can increase your duration and distance. For the best results, the goal is to have a “walking workout” three to five times a week for 30 to 60 minutes or 4,000 steps at your optimum pace. Obviously, five times a week for 60 minutes is best.

Over time, you’ll start to notice that walking the same distance starts to take less time to complete. You may feel comfortable with what you are doing and start to see some of the benefits of walking. At this point, you may want to increase your distance and intensity, and start to set some weekly goals to further increase your progress.

Exercise Walking

Walking for exercise is best achieved by recording your progress. By knowing how much you are currently walking on a daily basis, you can set weekly goals and increase your weekly target.

Start by using a pedometer to record how many steps you take over the course of a week. Divide that number by 7 so you get an average baseline number on a per day basis.

In week one, you should aim to walk your baseline number of steps every day. Each week, you should add between 500 to 1000 steps to your daily target. Ultimately, the goal is to walk between 7,500 to 8,000 steps every day.

To get your heart rate up, aim to walk faster than a stroll. Picking up the pace increases the intensity of your workouts. A moderate pace burns stored fat and can help build muscle to speed up your metabolism.

Whether you walk or run a mile, you lose virtually the same amount of calories. As with most cardiovascular activity the calories burned walking is about the distance and not the effort. A quicker pace will only burn calories faster.