The prospect of exercise can be so overwhelming to a beginner that you don’t even bother after that first awful gym session. However, walking can be a great way to get started, as you can begin small and build up to more exertive things. Getting started on your walking programme is by far the hardest part, but if you want to get the best results for your wellness, there are other things you need to consider:
1. Posture. It’s vital to have a good posture when walking, so keep checking that your head is lifted and your shoulders are relaxed.
2. Get a good rhythm going. When you’re walking, you should always try to swing your arms in a natural way, and breathe deeply. You might see being out of breath as a good indication that you’re improving your fitness levels, but this actually means you’re pushing yourself beyond what your body is ready for. You should be able to maintain a conversation while walking, so if it’s taking your breath away, slow down that pace and steer clear of any hills.
3. Build up gradually. While it’s important not to push yourself past your body’s limits, you do need to build up your walks if you wish to continue benefiting from the exercise. Keep it basic until you reach a point where you can walk a few kilometres. After this point, you should start trying to vary the intensity of the exercise and increase the length of your walks.
4. Take to the hills: Again, this may be something you need to build up to, but incorporating hills into your walk is essential for increasing your fitness and burning off those extra calories. Plus, it’s great for toning your legs and bum. That climb may not seem to appealing at the beginning, but just focus on how easy it will be to come back down!
5. Look after those muscles: Stretching may feel like the extra bit to do if you have time, or something reserved for “proper athletes” but even walking can take its toll on your muscles, and you need to take care of them. Plus, a few minutes of relaxing stretches isn’t a chore; it’s your way of rounding off your walk with a reward. While stretching, congratulate yourself on a job well done, and for doing enough work to merit stretches in the first place! If you don’t, you could end up with sore muscles, which might put you off walking again, so it’s best to maintain those beautiful new muscles you’re developing.
6. Take a leaf out of Julie Andrews’ notebook: The prospect of walking up hills may be a dampener to your sense of wellbeing, but, as the song goes, the hills (and you) come alive with the sound of music. Taking your mp3 player along for the walk helps to energise you, regulate your pace and distract you from the fact that you’re exercising (which is always an excellent way to trick your body into doing more!) However, while it can be tempting to crank up the volume and really get those juices pumping, this may be dangerous as you’ll be less able to hear what’s going on around you, so keep the volume down and watch out for traffic that you may not hear.
7. Write all about it: Even if you’ve been walking for a while, you might not feel like you’ve come very far at all. Keeping a record of your walking times and distances can help you to see how much your fitness has improved, which will motivate you to carry on in your efforts. You might even like to set targets in your journal, and reward yourself when you reach those goals.