The Better Fitness Walk
Learn proper form techniques to make your walks more efficient.
Source: Cooking
Light By Gin Miller
Fitness walking is an excellent way
to tone muscles and burn calories. In fact, you can burn almost as many calories
with a vigorous walk as you can running, and fitness walking
is much less stressful on the body. You will need to average
about 12 to 15 minutes per mile (measure your distance with
a pedometer, available from sporting goods stores). Start
by walking for at least 20 to 30 minutes three to four days
per week. Increase this to five to six days per week if you're
trying to lose weight.
Here are tips for proper walking form:
- Elongate your body by standing tall with head
up, chin level, and eyes gazing forward.
- Lift chest, and
relax shoulders. Breathe deeply as you walk to get the
maximum amount of oxygen to your muscles.
- Bend arms slightly
and swing them front to back, not side to side or crossing
the body. Do not swing elbows higher than chest level.
- Tilt
pelvis forward slightly, and keep abs tight.
- Push off with
toes and land on heel, rolling back through to toe to push
off again.
- Maintain a natural stride length.
Add speed intervals to your walks to
burn up to 10 times more calories than you would during
an ordinary fitness walk. After warming up, fitness walk for three minutes, then add
a one-minute speed interval. Increase your walking pace to
about eight or nine on an intensity scale of one to 10. At
the end of one minute, slow back to your fitness speed. Continue
alternating three-minute segments of fitness walking with
one-minute increments of speed for a total of 10 intervals.
You should interval train only twice a week to allow your
body time to recuperate between workouts.
Quick Tip: Drink plenty of water before, during, and after
your walk, and start with a slow five- to eight-minute warm-up
of slow walking. At the end of your walk, cool down and stretch.
+ See Full Article at Cooking Light
|
