Turning your walk into a real workout
To maximize the health benefits, you need to pick up your speed
After a long, cold, snowy winter, there’s no better way to celebrate sunshine and the arrival of double-digit temperatures than going for a walk. With no learning curve and little in the way of gear to buy, walking is a great option for anyone trying to achieve their fitness goals.
Yet despite the number of people shaking off the winter doldrums by heading out for a spring stroll, there’s more to walking than just smelling the roses. To reap all it has to offer, you need to do more than simply put one foot in front of the other.
Turning your walk into a workout is all about pace. So while the occasional stroll around the neighbourhood is great for getting the kinks out, if you want to unleash all its healthy gains — a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and breast and colon cancers, as well as improved mood, added creativity and increased blood flow to the brain — you need to pick up your speed.
So with a nod to the time of year when Canadians from coast to coast come out of hibernation and stretch their legs, here are some tips, tricks and tools to turn your walk into a workout.
VARY THE PACE
Time-efficient and effective, an interval workout calls for changing your even-paced walks into bouts of short, speedy pickups alternated with slightly longer periods of recovery. Not only will you burn about 20 per cent more calories, you’ll reap greater fitness and health benefits compared with the same workout performed at a steady pace.
Start with a relaxed pace for the first 10 minutes of your walk, then speed up to an intensity that feels uncomfortable but sustainable for 30 seconds. Reduce your speed to a more comfortable pace for 60 seconds.
Ease into it by adding four sets of fast/slow intervals to your current workout and slowly build up to eight sets in the weeks to come. Once you’ve got that mastered, extend the speed interval to 60 seconds and recovery to 90 seconds, performing at least two interval workouts a week.
USE AN APP
These days, activity trackers, smartphone apps and smart watches offer more than just a step count. They also monitor heart rate, calories burned, walking speed and distance travelled. Why are all these numbers important? Several studies have shown that exercisers who track their progress are more likely to maintain their exercise habit than those who don’t.
When it comes to individual stats, walkers could learn a lesson or two from runners who are obsessed with their numbers. Monitoring exactly how far and how fast you walk along with how hard you push yourself allows you to log your progress. Within just a few weeks of starting regular walking workouts, you’ll see your speed pick up, your distance increase and your heart rate level off as overall fitness improves.
COUNT YOUR STEPS
The best way to measure exertion while on the go is to count steps. According to researchers, step counts between 92-102 steps per minute for men and 91115 steps per minute for women qualify as a moderate intensity workout.
Use your favourite app to help you stay on pace, striving for 3,000 steps in 30 minutes.
If you struggle keeping the pace for the full 30 minutes, make 1,000 steps in 10 minutes your goal and slowly work your way to where you can maintain that pace for longer periods of time.
And for anyone attempting an interval workout, make sure your speedy intervals are done at a rate well above 100 steps per minute.
VARY THE TERRAIN
Incorporating different types of terrain into your walking workouts provides a nice dose of variety and challenge. Hills build leg power and make your heart beat faster and walking in the sand and snow burns more calories that walking on cement. Hiking takes your walk to another level altogether, challenging balance, agility and building aerobic power as you negotiate uneven terrain on narrow winding paths.
Keep in mind that most apps won’t give you credit for the extra energy it takes to negotiate challenging terrain, though the majority of smartphones have altimeters that recognize ascents and descents. And you may struggle to keep your step count above 100 steps per minute if you’re hiking up a hill.
But there’s nothing wrong with occasionally putting technology and step counts aside as you head off the beaten path to enjoy the simplicity of putting one foot in front of the other.