Walk to Exercise
There have been repeated calls from health experts and nutritionists the world over for all of us to walk more in our quest to get back into good shape. If you’ve finally let go of your hesitation to believe these claims, there is something important that you must consider: there is a certain manner of walking that will benefit you more than other forms.
For instance, pacing around inside your home may contribute slowly to help you get your minimum required amount of physical activity per day. However, in order to better maximize the time you spend walking, look at new ways by which walking exercises have been designed. One such method is done by integrating interval training as you walk. This is the extra push that your walk routine needs in order to give it maximum impact.
The advantage of pursuing interval training is that you’ll be getting twice as much workout in as much as half the time it would normally take. This means you can actually spend a couple more minutes in the morning in bed before running off to get enough exercise.
The goal of interval training is to increase heart rate in short intervals, rather than in a gradual manner. This is because the body spends more energy coping with sudden increases and decreases of your heart rate, rather than when the heart rate is being kept steady. Walking steadily throughout your routine will make you lose out on the additional energy loss inherent in the short bursts of speedy heartbeats from interval training. However, this method of walking is something that is not easy to do, and may require some getting used to over time.
Basic interval walking is easy. You begin by setting a scale measuring how much effort you exert-on a scale of 1 to 10. Think of it this way, level 1 walking would be similar to simply lounging in front of your television, while level 10 will be a full-on run. As such, begin walking moderately for five minutes, which should register at an exertion level of about 6 or 7. After that, exert a level 8 or 9 effort for the next 5 minutes. Alternate between these two effort levels throughout your workout.
In order to take note of when you are supposed to change paces during your workout, you can use songs as a guide. On a tape or mp3 player, record alternating slow and fast music to help remind you that a change in pace is in order. You can even walk to the beat of the music you’re playing, whether you’re outdoors or on the treadmill.
Truth be told, interval training integrated into walking during workout is one of the most effective ways to get the most out of walking. You burn twice the number of calories for the same amount of time spent working out when you go for a walk. This is also an excellent way to make walking work to your advantage, so that you’re able to lose as much weight from doing something so simple. Do two rounds of increasing and decreasing rates of walking before doing some lunges and squats to strengthen leg muscles.
You are bound to achieve whatever workout goals you set by integrating interval walking into your existing workout.
Tags: Decreases, easy exercise, easy weight loss, Energy Loss, exercises, Exertion, fitness, Five Minutes, for exercises, Good Shape, Half The Time, Health Experts, healthy living, Heart Rate, Heartbeats, Hesitation, interval training, Intervals, Level 1, Level 8, Maximum Impact, New Ways, Physical Activity, planning your exercise routine, Sudden Increases, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Secrets, Workout