by So you want to burn fat and start getting in shape but you don’t know how or what method to start with. If your experience is limited when it comes to losing weight or with fitness in general. maybe you have a problem with your mobility because of your weight and can’t or don’t want to or feel ready to do any high intensity sports or go to the gym. Then walking can be a great way to start off with.
It’s fairly easy. almost anyone can do it, all you need is your feet, and probably some proper shoes and your good to go. sounds simple right? well, there’s a little more to it then that but I will try to cover most of it do not worry.The most important thing is that you are here and you’ve decided to make a change.
How do you start walking?
This is maybe a silly question, everybody knows how to walk right? Just step outside your door and start moving your feet. But if you are a complete beginner there are some things to think of and habits you should try to adapt in the beginning if you want make the walking as smooth as possible.
It is important that you use good posture when you walk. If the walking form is bad such as slouching, your shoulders hang forward,the head is bent over and you’re dragging your feet like a zombie.( and don’t “walk like an Egyptian” either, no matter what The Bangles says) That’s is not a very good or comfortable way to start. You can develop an injury over time if nothing is done to correct it.
It could be your neck, back, shins or your knees that is hurt and it can take a long time to recover from it so lets be smart about this and try our best do this right from the beginning ok?
There are 4 things we should focus on when we talk about a “good walking form”. They are your posture, foot motion, stride and the use of your arms when walking. Learn these and it will have a big impact on your walking speed and the ability to be more energetic. you’ll be ready to go and feel much lighter when you walk.
If you want a better posture you should aim to keep your body in a straight line. Don’t arch your back,try to focus on tighten the abdominal muscles and the buttocks as this will help you from leaning forward. Imagine your eyes fixated on something a bit further ahead so that your head and chin automatically becomes parallel to the ground and faces forward. This way is better for the neck and it wont generate as much tension there.
Learning the correct foot motion is a must if you want to develop strong functional shin muscles and avoid injuries such as shin splints. You basically follow three steps with your feet in a sort of rolling motion. First you place your foot down with your heel, then roll through with the ball of your foot and as it is flat to the ground you push yourself forward using your toes. Sounds a bit weird, I know. but if you practice this it will make a big difference.
It is important that you have a walking stride that is not to long which means that your forward foot doesn’t step out to far. It’s better to take shorter, faster steps- A short stride will prevent your knees from extending beyond their normal reach.
And finally there is arm motion, the use of your arms. You know, those long stumps hanging from the side of your body. It’s time to start using them.
They can be a great way of helping your body move forward, assist you with balance and also helps burning more calories.
Start by bending your elbows 90 degrees, keeping them locked in near your body and close your hands.Keep your shoulders relaxed. When you’re walking and stepping forward your opposite arm should also come out in a sort of pendulum motion.
You can learn more about this in the video below.
Now we’re getting somewhere. The basics of walking is covered. Lets talk about what it can do for you in terms of losing weight and staying healthy.
What can walking do for your health?
Walking can have many health benefits and it has always been the most studied go to exercise form. It’s easy to do, cost less than a gym membership and it doesn’t take up much of your time.
In fact several studies shows that walking only 30 minutes a day can increase health and reduce your risk for heart disease by 19 percent.
Think about all the things you do in one day. there are some tasks that you can’t get away from like work, prepare food, school, laundry etc. But there are certainly things you do during the day that are a bit unnecessary. For example. What if you instead of laying in your comfortable sofa and scrolling thru YouTube videos for an extra 30 minutes every day you took that time and went out walking. A small sacrifice that can make a big difference. Think about it.
Here is a list of other great benefits:
- Burn calories-Lose weight- The first and maybe the most important one. How much calories you burn depends on your weight, speed and the length of that walk. In a 30 minutes walk you can burn anywhere from 80 to 200 calories. If you wanna know exactly how many calories you burn try using a calorie calculator or smart watch that includes one.
- A Healthy Heart- As mentioned earlier walking at a moderate pace can help lower the risk of heart disease. Your heart is also a muscle and if you do exercises that temporarily raises heart rate and blood pressure it will adapt just like any other muscle. It will become stronger, more effective and be able to pump blood into the veins delivering more oxygen and nutrients to other organs in the body.
- Stronger Muscles, Bones and Joints- Walking can definitely strengthen your muscles and tone them. If you manage to get up to 15 000 steps a day and start incorporate intervalls and uphill walking it can be equal to a workout at the gym. Ok, let’s be honest here. You won’t get muscles and look like a bodybuilder anytime soon if you’re only walking but it will give you a healthy appearance. It will help you get strong, toned legs,abs and as walking gets you better blood circulation in the spine it can even help ease back pain. Your Bones loses density with age, this is normal but you can slow the process down with regular exercises such as walking, strength training and a solid diet. this will make the bones stronger and your joints more flexible which in turn reduces injuries and prevents osteoporosis.
- Improved Sleep And Reduced Stress- Going for a walk can be very beneficial for those that have trouble sleeping. When you exercise your body produces natural sleep hormones such as Melatonin. This hormone puts you in a more relaxed state and lets your body know that its time to surrender to the bed. A good nights sleep restores your energy and you’re ready to take on a stressfull day. If you want to manage your stress levels, a brisk walk should do you good. Try to clear your head and relax, listen to some of your favorite music or an audio book. Walking will release endorphins. A wonderful “chemical” in the brain that makes you feel calm and great about yourself.
- A Longer Life- We all wanna be happy and healthy and live a long life as in this wonderful world. For that to happen we have to keep our bodies in decent shape and try to eat a healthy diet. We must break our bad habits by developing specific health habits and stick with them.
- Exercising for at least half an hour every day.
- Eating healthy food every day.
- Making sure that we get enough sleep every day.
This is one of the most effective ways to lose weight.
….And it can add years to your life.
How much do you need to walk to lose weight?
You should get in a minimum of 30 minutes walk everyday. But walking three days a week is a good start for your health. When you get to a higher level and feel ready the goal should be an hour. It doesn’t matter if you walk less in the beginning. Start slow and then aim for a total time of 150 minutes for the week. This is stated in the “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 2nd edition.
If you you feel that 30 minutes is to much in the beginning, don’t worry. start with 15 minutes and gradually increase the time when you are comfortable to do so. The most important thing is that you start to form a habit of going out everyday, getting exercise burning some calories.
It is said by many people that a good guideline to follow when walking to lose weight is to do 10,000 steps a day. But how do I know how many steps i’ve taken? How do I count them?
Ok, here’s what you do. Get yourself a pedometer,or any other device that includes one. Find out how many steps you do in one day. Use this as your baseline and start building up your steps from there. Say that your baseline is 4000 a day, if you have an active job your starting step rate is going to be higher for obvious reasons. Try to add 1000 every week till you reach 10,000 steps.
Why this number of steps? you may ask. This question does not have one simple answer, but in my opinion it’s mainly for health reasons. 10,000 steps equals about an hour of daily exercise. Studies have shown that this can be a very sufficient time for you to burn fat, lower your blood pressure,get in a good mood and all the other great benefits that leads to a long and healthy life.
How many calories do you burn when walking 10,000 steps?
As mentioned earlier. How many calories you can burn is mainly decided on your size and the level of intensity when walking(more on that later).
Let’s say for example that you weigh 100 kg. (220 lbs) Then by walking 10,000 steps a day you will burn close to 600 calories. That’s the same as snicker bars, (why do I always have to think about candy.) If you walk 6 days in one week you’ll burn 3600 calories. That is equal to one pound of body fat, more or less.
I recommend and that you stay within this range. Losing more than one pound per week can otherwise lead to multiple health problems such muscle loss, gallstones or a drop in metabolism. This is what health specialists and doctors recommend, although it is not true for one case. It’s actually normal to lose a couple of pounds when you start walking because the body also makes rid of a lot of water. So don’t go crazy if lose more the first weeks.
Just remember. As long as you burn more calories than you consume you will be on the right path to losing weight.
Set goals, maximize your effort.
You been walking for 6 weeks, you’re doing your 10,000 steps and have manage to lose some weight. It’s feels great. you feel motivated and want to keep going but suddenly it stops. You can’t seem to lose more weight. Why can’t I lose more weight?I was doing so well. Calm down. You have reach a plateau. Don’t give up. This is normal, it happens after some time, when your body get’s used to the exercise routine that you perform each week. So what can we do?
Now it is time to do something new, something different, something more. The time has come to raise the effort if we want to break through and overcome this high obstacle and take it to the next level.
The key here is progression. It’s easy to get too comfortable and being stuck doing the same thing over and over, hoping that you will eventually push through with better results. Trust me. it wont happen. You should always have the goal in mind to try improve yourself. You have to challenge the body and make it work harder. To do that you have to make some adjustments to your workout.
This you can do by altering the distance, time, speed and intensity. You don’t have to do them all at once. focus on increasing one of them first, and then maybe add another.
Make sure that you vary the distance of your walks. Include one or two longer walks during the week .
Add time to your walking. This naturally happens when you increase the distance and see if you can beat the clock the next time.
Incorporate different speeds during your walk. start by walking at a slow pace and then the change the speed. Try walking at your highest for a few minutes before you switch back to normal pace.And then do a faster pace again.
Raise the intensity. get that heart beating in your chest. Mix things up with with intervalls. go for a walk in a bit more difficult terrain. Do your walking in steep hills if you have them. you can also wear a weighted west if you really wanna make things more intense or try walking with a pair of dumbells.
There will be those days, or weeks when you just can’t find a reason to get your feet out the door.. your inner spark has vanished. This always happens to me during the winter season. I live in a country where it can be dark and cold from november to march. It doesn’t help. There for It’s a struggle to go out walking or hit the gym and I’d much rather stay home and watch a new episode of my favorite series on NETFLIX. But instead of making up excuses I try to find ways keep me motivated.
Here are some things I like doing to boost the desire for training again and keep the momentum going.
- Set a realistic goal. Decide for example that your going to lose some weight for the next time you meet a family member or an old friend that you haven’t seen in a while. Make up a mental image in your mind how surprised they will be when they see the “new you”.
- Set the alarm on your telephone. Include a inspiring message at the specific time every day that you going to exercise. For example something like “I will do this, I will succeed”. I know It’s dumb,but it works.
- Get some new gear. The one thing that always cheers me up when I feel the lack of motivation, is getting some new gear. Shoes,clothing,new hat. Looking stylish doesn’t hurt,and will get a nice little self-confidence boost
- Friendly competition. If you have one or more friends that’s striving for the same goal as you. Make it a fun competition among yourself, let the the one reaches it first get a small price. maybe a paid dinner?
- Use a smartwatch.Track your time, speed,distance, heart-rate,blood pressure and follow sleep patterns just to name a few features. The options are endless. I love using mine.
These are some suggestions and tips that you can use and I hope you enjoyed reading them.
Last but not least, when starting a new exercise program you should always consult with a doctor to make sure that you don’t have any hidden health issues or injuries. especially if your 50 or older. but even if your not of that age it doesn’t hurt to go and test yourself to see that blood pressure, cholesterol is in check.
It is finally time to “walk the walk, if you want to “talk the talk”. I have given you some basic knowledge and guidelines that will get you started and on your way to be a better, healthier you.
Now put on your shoes, go out there and make me proud.