Walking for Fitness and Weight Loss
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There is no simple easy answer to exactly how much exercise one needs to lose weight. It is however clear that the simple health recommendation of a moderate daily 30 minute walks in all likelihood is not enough to aid in substantial weight loss. It will however reduce your risk for chronic disease and an early death, but 30 minutes each day does not burn enough calories or build enough fitness to assist you in dropping a substantial amount of weight.
There are three important keys to walking for fitness and weight loss:
- You need to take longer walks on at least two or three weekdays. You should boost your walking time of 45 - 60 minutes. This is the easiest way to bump up your calorie burn. A brisk 60 minute walk can easily burn more than 400 calories. On one day each week, attempt to increase your walking time to two hours. This will most likely dip into your fat stores for energy.
- Faster walks should be utilized on days when you have less time to devote. Try to increase the pace to burn more calories in less time, while boosting your fitness.
- Strength building needs to be done two or three days each week. Choose a simple routine with at least six to eight exercises for your main muscle groups. This will build strength and rev up your metabolism permanently.
There are plenty of ways to boost your heart rate and burn more calories during each walk, however speeding up your pace is the most straightforward and natural. You do not need any special equipment, facilities, or terrain. You do however need to master the basic elements of fast walking techniques and you will have an intense workout wherever you need it.
So why is there so much emphasis on faster walking? Firstly, faster walking will tax your body in ways that slow walking cannot. Secondly, you will not always have time for longer walks, so you need to try to get the greatest amount of benefit from your shorter efforts.
Your body utilizes energy in two ways. The first is aerobically, by using the oxygen breathed into your lungs as you burn fuel. This is known as aerobic metabolism. It is what you do when walking at a comfortable, sustainable pace. There is also an anaerobic metabolism. Anaerobic metabolism kicks in when you do some type of activity that makes your muscles demand oxygen faster than you can breathe it in and get it to them. In daily life, you use a mix of these two energy systems.
Get into the habit of thinking about the level of effort you are creating for your body each time you go for a walk. Walking for fitness requires several weekly fast paced walks. Shedding pounds may be your goal, and walking faster will certainly help you get there. Weight loss and walking for fitness go hand in hand.
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