To Walk Or Not To Walk?

Is walking for weight loss good for you or not? It is exercise, right? For centuries people walked everywhere, it was the only way to get to where you were going if an animal was unavailable. Walking at a brisk rate is a great way that we can burn calories. Walking can be done anywhere and requires no equipment and won’t put extra strain on your joints the way that running can. However, there are ways that you can increase your walk and your burn.

First of all, let’s think about your feet. That would be your equipment and if your feet hurt you will want to stay off of them not walk on them. Choose a pair of sneakers that have flexible soles but solid heals which will help prevent turning your foot and hurting your ankle. The comfier, the better.

I love to walk with some music playing. Choose music that motivates you. Upbeat music that you can keep the beat while walking. You will enjoy the music so much that you won’t even realize how far you have walked and how much effort you have put in. Get that heart rate up for a better burn. Interval training has been proven to give you better results. For a playlist choose a fast- paced song and really walk briskly to it for at least 3 minutes. Then choose a slower song so your heart rate slows down and then fast again. This kind of walking will ensure that you burn more calories.
Find a walking buddy that makes you laugh. Laughter actually causes an increase in resting heart rate meaning that 10–15 minutes of laughter can burn 40–170 calories add that to the calorie burn with walking and you are really winning. Laughter is truly the best medicine.

Plotting your route is always a good idea. You will know where you are going and about how long that it will take you and especially that where you are walking is safe. To relieve yourself and your walking buddy from boredom plot several routes. I like to have routes that are more challenging than others so that I can interval train that way too.

Green tea can help you recover faster after a brisk walk and help you burn more calories so drink up. It has been said in studies that not only does green tea help burn calories it also helps with cell damage caused by resistance to exercise which means it helps you recover faster.

Make sure that you are ready for the weather when you go for a walk. If it is hot out walk early in the morning. This is also when glycogen levels are at their lowest so your body will have to use fat for its energy source and that is great news. Don’t eat first, eat after your walk with a good protein and a healthy carbohydrate.

Walking is a great way to stay in shape. Just remember to burn more add weights and walk quickly.

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