Walking 101

Tips for Hitting your Stride
with a Walking Program

You've heard it before: Walking is good for you. It's a low-impact activity that's perfect for those who have not exercised previously, but want to burn calories and improve their health through an exercise program.

In addition to helping with weight management, walking offers a number of other benefits. It is a weight-bearing activity so it can help strengthen the bones. Engaging in regular, moderate intensity activities, like walking, are also good for your heart because these activities improve circulation, reduce blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, and reduce stress.

Walking is one of the most natural forms of exercise, so there's no advance training involved. It can help the exercise novice achieve a higher level of fitness and health. Even those who are already physically fit will benefit from brisk walks.

Getting Started

Even though a walking program is simple to implement, there are a few basics that you'll want to remember:

• Wear Comfortable Clothing and Walking Shoes - If you're walking outside, make sure your clothing will adequately protect you from the elements. Dressing in layers is often the best bet, since it enables you to adjust to changes in body temperature and weather. Walking shoes will give you the support you need, but make sure they're not too tight, or you may experience numbness in your feet. A good walking shoe will have a lower heel and will smooth out the heel- to-toe roll as you move forward.
• Warm up and Stretch - Spend a few minutes walking slowly to warm your muscles. Once you've warmed up, stretch your quadriceps, hamstring, calf, and side muscles. There are a variety of techniques that can be used, just remember not to bounce during the stretch. It's also important to stretch slowly, holding each position for about 30 seconds.
• Use Good Form - Keep your head and eyes up when you're walking. Bend your arms at the elbows in a 90-degree angle, moving them back and forth in a natural swinging motion. Think about gently tightening the stomach muscles. As you move forward, roll your foot from heel to toe. Take short, quick strides, rather than longer ones - over-striding can lead to muscle strain or injury.

Once you've begun a walking program and gradually increased the distance or duration of the exercise, you may be interested in taking your program to the next level: Running. Running typically allows you to burn calories in less time and be done with your workout sooner, but there's also a greater risk of strain. Running exerts much more force on the leg muscles and joints, and studies have found that runners have more days missed due to injury than do walkers.

In terms of benefits, experts have been debating for years about whether running or walking burns more calories. The answer to this question depends on various factors, such as how fast a person walks or runs, and how efficiently they perform the activity. All things considered, running typically does burn more calories than walking. But, when a person builds up his or her walking speed to 12 minutes per mile (or 5 miles per hour), he or she is able to achieve about the same number of calories burned as a runner.

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