Walking is without doubt the best way to get fit, especially for those embarking on a new exercise regime. But in these days where people are time-poor and want fast results, it’s often overlooked in favour of more ‘gruelling’ exercise choices. But a well-put together walking plan will, in fact, produce faster results and is more likely to lead to a sustained lifestyle change than a more rigorous regime.
The reason so many people fail to stick to new exercise plan is simply that they overdo it, feel discomfort (or injure themselves) and ultimately stop enjoying it. Walking feels good and can be fun too – the key is to understand how to ‘up the ante’ with these simple tips, and to mix up pace and distance to add constant progression to your walks.
Tip 1: Comfort is key
Prepare your body well with a gentle warm-up and make sure you are dressed for the outdoors, paying special attention to your footwear. Lightweight, flexible soled trainers are best for fitness walking.
Tip 2: Know your limits
You would not take up swimming and attempt the Channel on day one, so if you have not walked over a mile in a long time it’s best to not attempt five straight off. In short, listen to your body and build up mileage gradually, taking time to monitor how you feel at every stage of your walk.
Tip 3: Measure, Record and Increase (MRI)
No need to stop enjoying a walk or get hung up on stats, simply train yourself to ‘MRI scan’ your performance every once in a while. You can choose to measure steps, speed or distance (a simple pedometer or tracking app will help with this), the time you are out, or even how far you manage on a certain route. Whatever you choose to measure, you must record it and use it to add progression to your walks. If time is limited, pay more attention to increasing speed and difficulty (see below) so in essence you are achieving more in the same time.
Tip 4: Walk effectively
Don’t fall into the trap of hunching your shoulders and wiggling like a race walker! Here’s a step-by-step guide to walking well:
- Take time to ensure you start out with good posture and use this as a constant guide as to how well you are moving as you begin to work harder.
- Walk naturally, swinging your arms slightly further behind you than normal and bend them slightly as they come forward, taking the hands towards the middle in a relaxed motion.
- As you stride forward, allow the lead foot to touch the ground at the heel rather than the mid foot and then take the weight onto the mid foot and then up onto the toes as you prepare to change legs. This is called rolling through the foot and will maximise the use of your leg muscles.
- Try not to clench the fists or take vigorous steps – take controlled, longer but not overstretched strides, which should not affect your posture at all.
- If you feel compelled to lean forward or rock your upper body, slow down and adjust your stride until you are able to walk with good, relaxed posture again. It may not seem as ‘tough’ but by perfecting technique you are actually working the body more effectively and you will begin to feel this too.
Tip 5: Add some oomph!
Walking is fantastic cardiovascular exercise, which means it’s great for burning calories but if weight loss is your goal, add some resistance work to your regime, too. Resistance exercise (weight training) builds lean muscle tissue, which helps with toning but also increases your body’s ability to burn calories effectively. Adding resistance work to a walk can be done in a number of ways:
- Tone the arms and add resistance by carrying hand weights or using the Smovey Vibroswings (pictured), which have the added benefit of vibration with every swing.
- For ultimate toning and calorific benefits, Nordic walking is the most effective outdoor workout ever. It works 90% of the major muscles and is as effective as being on a cross trainer machine in the gym, but a lot more fun. Using Nordic walking poles requires practice but once you master it, you will feel lighter on your feet, energised and toned. It also improves posture and is great for those with neck, back or knee issues.
- You can also add some basic exercises to your walks like using park benches for arm dips or adding squats or lunges at intervals along the way.
- Mix up the speed you walk because short, fast bursts mixed with longer, slower paced walks have a faster training effect than sticking to the same pace all the time. Use markers like trees or signposts and set yourself some ‘interval’ goals.
- Finally, don’t forget the hills! The simplest way to make a walk harder is to include some inclines. Use them as a workout factor and once again, select a mix of long gradual climbs and short steep ones.
My final tip is to join a walking group, ideally with a qualified instructor who will push you harder and add the elements above without you even knowing it!
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