tips to STAY ON TRACK
It’s not just what you do with your feet. What’s going on in your head matters too. We’ve all done it – talked ourselves out of our good-health intentions. So here are some smart rules to manage the self-talk in your brain. Show up
“The trap many people fall into is always thinking you have to go big or go home,” says fitness trainer Sarah Kusch. “If they don’t have time to go for
30 or 60 minutes, then they don’t go at all.” Even if you aren’t able to fit in a workout, seizing opportunities to hoof it still counts, whether you’re wearing yoga pants or a pencil skirt. And it adds up – if you walk to three different locations and each one is 10 to 15 minutes away, you’re sneaking in at least 30 minutes of kilojojoule-burning, heart-rate-boosting activity.
Every step is a win
“If you are more focused on how many steps you didn’t take, instead of how many you did, that can be a big blow to your motivation,” Sarah says. What’s more, a study published in The BMJ journal shows that, while hitting 10,000 steps a day leads to significant improvements in body mass index (BMI) and insulin sensitivity, increasing the number of steps you take by just 2,000 over your current amount – even if you’re still short of the 10,000-per-day target – has benefits for BMI and decreases diabetes risk.
THE BOTTOM LINE Put an emphasis on doing more rather than hitting a specific target and you’ll likely stay motivated to rack up your steps, Sarah says.
Tailor-make your walk
If you have only 15 minutes, throwing some speed walking or hills into your workout can help torch more kilojoules in the time you have, Sarah says. “But if you don’t enjoy doing intervals, or speed walking hurts your knees, then don’t do it.” Most important, she says, make walking something you enjoy doing and you’ll be more likely to do it. Whether you prefer walking outside to stepping on a treadmill, listening to podcasts instead of music, or going longer but a little slower, getting out there day after day is what matters most and is your surest way to see results.