Walking for fitness and weight loss: How to use walking as part of a fitness and weight loss program.
Contents
Walking for 30-60 minutes per day at a brisk
pace is recommended by health authorities for maintaining health and reducing
weight gain. It is one of the easiest
forms of exercise for most of us to accomplish.
How to Start Walking for Weight Loss
If you have health concerns or a chronic
problem, consult with your health care provider prior to beginning any exercise
program.
If you have been doing no walking other than
going about your daily tasks, start with a 15 minute walk. You should be able to cover between 3/4 mile
and 1 mile in that time.
• Spend
the first couple of minutes at an easy pace to warm up and loosen up. Then increase your speed until you are
walking at a determined pace.
• As you reach your top speed, your breathing will increase but
you should still be able to speak in full sentences rather than just gasping out a word at a time.• As
you near the end of your walk, slow to an easy pace for a minute before
finishing.
If you normally get a lot of walking in within
a day, or find 15 minutes to be no challenge, you can bump up your walking time
to 30 minutes.
If the 15 minutes was already a challenge,
increase your walking time by 5 minutes after completing 5 walking days. Most walkers do not need a rest day between
walking days until they are walking for more than an hour at a time.
Work up to a goal of walking 30-60 minutes a
day most days of the week. That is the
level of exercise recommended by the American Heart Association for good health
and maintaining a healthy weight.
• How
to Walk for Absolute Beginners
• Let's
Get Walking : Free 4-week program for beginners
Walking Shoes for Weight Loss
The only special gear needed for fitness
walking is a good pair of shoes. While
many styles are labeled as walking shoes, they may not be appropriate for
fitness walking. You need to test the
shoes to be sure they meet the F criteria: Flat, flexible, and no flared heel.
• Flat: Walkers strike with their heel, so a low heel
is desired. Some running shoes have
built-up heels because some runners land on their midfoot. Look for styles that are flat.
• Flexible:
Your foot rolls through a step from heel to toe, and your shoe must bend
throughout this motion. If your shoe
isn't flexible, your foot will be straining against it through each step. Test the shoe to make sure you can flex and
bend it. If you can't -- it's not a good
shoe for fitness walking.
• No
Flared Heel: Some running shoes and trail shoes have a flared heel to provide
stability for runners who land on their mid-foot. This is completely wrong for walkers, who strike
with their heel. A slightly undercut
heel is best for walking to help with rolling from heel to toe.
Should you buy running shoes for walking? The answer is usually yes. You will be able to find a wider range of
acceptable styles labeled as running shoes than you will find labeled as
walking shoes. This doesn't mean there
aren't excellent walking shoes available, but that you need to test each shoe
to see whether it is good for fitness walking.
Where should you buy walking shoes? Find the store in your area that caters to
serious runners rather than going to a big box store or shoe chain store. These stores build customer loyalty by being
experts on fitting you for the best shoes for your feet. They will be able to
tell whether you overpronate and need a motion control shoe or whether you
would do well with a stability shoe or lightweight performance trainer. You can
expect to pay $50-100 for a good pair of shoes.
Generally, a higher priced shoe is not necessary and would indicate
something fashionable rather than what is needed for function.
Before You Buy Walking Shoes for Weight Loss
Walking Off Weight
To lose weight, you must burn more calories
each day than you eat. Effective weight
loss combines a reduced calorie diet with exercise, to build lean muscle while
losing unsightly and unhealthy fat.
Burning an extra 300 calories per day in exercise is recommended, which
is equal to 60 minutes of walking a day for most people.
Calorie Calculators
• Daily
Calories Calculator: How many calories
does your body need each day just to function?
Use this calorie calculator to see what your basal metabolic rate it
(BMR). To lose weight, you should aim to
consume 300 fewer calories per day than your BMR.
• Walking
Calorie Calculator by Distance: Enter
your weight and the distance you walked to see how many calories you burned.
• Walking
Calorie Calculator by Walking Minutes:
Enter your weight and the minutes you walked plus your estimated speed
to see how many calories you burned.
• Pedometer
Steps Calorie Calculator: Enter your pedometer steps, weight, average steps per
mile and estimated speed to see how many calories you burned.
• Calorie
Count: Find the calorie content of food,
including restaurant items. You can plan
meals, analyze recipes and track your calories online at no cost.
