Use these tips for power walking to get more from your walk.
When it comes to losing weight, picking the right exercise for your situation is absolutely vital. Not everyone can go out and pump iron or run for a few miles. Most people that need to lose some weight can, however, walk for a bit. Some can even walk a bit faster than the norm and that can benefit them via cardio and additional calorie burning. This is called power walking or fitness walking and it has become a very popular weight loss exercise in recent years. The benefits are more than just weight loss, however. Studies show that an increase in walking speed can actually improve your heart health as well.
Like all exercises, you should partner with your doctor and talk it over before beginning a program. Once you get the okay from your doctor, power walking can become a strong part of your exercise program.
5 Tips for Power Walking for Weight Loss
Here are the five things you need to remember when power walking to keep the right form and be most effective:
Always keep your head up – Many people tend to drop their head when they are walking either from being tired or from bad form. This puts your spine out of alignment and can cause soreness in your neck and back. Keep your head up and your shoulders back while walking.
Keep your back straight and tall – This helps you to prevent any strains in your lower back and will force you to keep solid form throughout your stride. Back problems are no vacation and you should always stay upright and focused when power walking. A nice, straight base is the key to an effective power walking program and a straight back is the core of that principle.
Use your back leg to push – Many people tend to throw their stride foot forward rather than push off their back leg when fitness walking. This is a mistake and can also cause strained muscles in your calf and thighs. Use that strong base of your back foot to push off on. When you are walking from a source of strength you will double the benefits of your walking exercise.
Take quick, short strides – These are more controlled and will help you to generate safe speed as opposed to long strides that will risk injury. Shorter and quicker is much better for cardio as well. The additional steps needed will only enhance your weight loss.
Keep those arms moving – If you look like you are walking with your arms tied to your sides, you are doing this all wrong. Your arms should move vigorously back and forth in stride with your legs so that you are burning even more calories and increasing that heart rate. Pump them if you want, but don’t let them sit still. Get out there and move!
Power walking is a wonderful way to boost your weight loss program and it is generally safer than most other programs. If you do it right and stick to a regular fitness walking routine, you can certainly drop some pounds in an efficient and safe fashion.
More Fitness Tips:
- Ways to Get Fit on a Budget
- How to Train for Your First 5K
- 8 Yoga Poses to Help You Detox
- 10 Simple Changes to Help You Lose Weight
- Indoor Exercises for When the Weather is Bad
- 6 Steps to Getting Back on Track with Fitness and Exercise
- Sneak Exercise Into Your Day so Your Body Doesn’t Notice
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Sharon @ Farm Fresh Family says
Great tips! I love power walking. I’ve tried being a runner so many times, but have come to terms with the fact that I just don’t like it. 🙂