Power walking is one of the most maintainable workouts a person can add to their routine! If you haven’t pursued the world of power walking, it might be time to give it a try.
The reason? There are so many benefits to walking regularly:
- It’s low-impact: Walking gives you a great heart rate boost without wreaking havoc on your joints and connective tissue.
- It burns calories: A power walk can burn anywhere from 200 to 400 calories per hour or more, depending on the speed.
- It can ease knee pain from osteoarthritis.
- It can protect your heart: Research shows walking can lower your risk of cardiovascular events like a heart attack or stroke.
- It can help prevent varicose veins.
- It helps improve your immune system.
- It can lower your blood pressure.
If power walking is your exercise of choice (and it’s a good one!), we have 7 tips for maximizing your weight loss.
1. Stretch, Then Start Slow
Stretching is crucial, even before a walk! Warming up your muscles helps you avoid strain and injury. If you’re too sore or in pain after a walking workout, it can throw a wrench in your routine.
After a stretch, begin your walk slowly. Start by walking for about 5 minutes at a slower pace, and consider adding some walking lunges and hip circles.
2. Maintain Good Posture While Walking
Posture is key to a good power walk. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Stand tall: Pull your abs in, keep your head up, pull your shoulders back (but keep them relaxed), and lift your chest.
- Keep your arms moving: Good arm motion will help you burn 5-10 percent more calories. Make relaxed fists, bend your elbows 90 degrees, and keep your elbows pulled in close to your body as you pump your arms straight forward (not diagonally). Be sure they stay low, not going past your breastbone.
- Watch your foot motion: Your footsteps should be in a heel-to-toe motion. Your heel hits first, then your foot rolls through your toe.
- Keep your strides natural: Don’t try to speed up by taking giant steps or an unnaturally long stride.
3. Walk on an Incline
Thanks to gravity, it requires more energy to walk uphill, and you’ll burn more calories!
For every 1 percent of the uphill grade, a 150-pound person burns roughly 10 more calories per mile.
4. Add Weight
A weighted vest surrounds your core, keeping you balanced while helping burn more calories.
One study found that those who wore a weighted vest equal to 15% of their body weight while walking on a treadmill burned 6.3 calories per minute, whereas those who didn’t burned 5.7 calories per minute
Since your body weight is higher with a vest, you’ll boost your walk’s intensity and give your muscles more of a workout while you’re at it!
5. Pick Up the Pace
To maximize weight loss, you’ll need to walk at least 4 miles per hour (or 135 steps per minute), which is around a 15-minute mile.
While you don’t need to run, you do need to walk briskly to increase your calorie burn. You’ll know you’re getting a good moderate-intensity walk when your breathing is harder and talking becomes more difficult.
6. Incorporate Intervals
Interval walking can improve your endurance and help torch calories. Intervals include alternating short bursts of walking at a faster pace with short periods at a slower pace.
Interval walks don’t just burn more calories; they also stimulate your metabolism in the period after your workout is finished. (A win-win!)
Try walking for three to four minutes at an average pace, then walk briskly for 30 seconds. Repeat this five to ten times for an effective calorie-burning power walk. As you begin to build more endurance, you can increase the amount of time you walk briskly and reduce your time at a slower pace.
7. Don’t Push Yourself Too Hard
You don’t want to go too hard, too fast!
Power walking too many miles can increase the risk of injury and soreness. Don’t be tempted to start aggressively in an attempt to burn more calories.
If you are new to power walking, shoot for 15-20 minutes or less on your first few walks. After a week of regular movement, increase your time to 20-25 minutes.
After a couple more weeks, you will be up to a solid 30 to 45-minute walk! A good rule of thumb is to gradually increase your walks by 10 percent each week.
Ready to get started? Here are a couple of options to try:
Walking For Weight Loss | Your 14-Day Plan
Guess what, my friends, walking works. Study after study proves that people who walk regularly stay more youthful, stronger, and happier in old age.
To get started, try my free 14-day challenge and get walking for a weight loss plan.
Walking For Weight Loss | Your 14-Day Plan
3 Walking Workouts For Weight Loss
If you want to start working out or get back in shape after taking a break from exercise, there’s no better—or more convenient—form of exercise than walking. Walking is low-impact and doable for almost everyone, but if weight loss is your goal, we’re here to tell you that intensity is the key to success.
3 Walking Workouts For Weight Loss
9 Tips For Joint Health | Keep Your Joints Healthy As You Age
Keeping your joints healthy is key to staying mobile and experiencing less pain as you age. Although you may not be able to prevent all joint injuries or arthritis, there are many things you can start doing today to improve your joint health!
9 Tips For Joint Health | Keep Your Joints Healthy As You Age
This content was originally published here.
