WAIST WHITTLING WALK PLAN
‘The beauty of walking is that you can just open your front door and go,’ says Walk the Walk’s Nina Barough. ‘But, before you set off, follow my tips to make your walking sessions even better…’
WEEK ONE MONDAY: 15 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
It’s the first day of your new walking routine, so enjoy it. Plan it into your day, pick a nice park or some nearby countryside and get going! Wear trainers or walking shoes with a fairly flexible sole. If you’re walking off-road, invest in a pair of trail shoes, which have extra grip for muddy paths.
TUESDAY: 15 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
In these first few days, you’re aiming to start building your fitness and make walking a habit. Think about the best time of day for your walks and schedule them in. You might feel getting up a bit earlier hard at first, but the reward is it’s lovely and quiet.
WEDNESDAY: 20 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
Find a local walk that takes in some hills. They don’t have to be huge steep slopes – just some undulation to challenge you a little and get you working a bit harder. Aim for 20 minutes and really power up the hills, using your arms as accelerators.
Adding in these hills helps build strength in your legs and bottom, and boosts the cardiovascular benefits of your daily walk.
THURSDAY: 20 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
Today, add in some strength work for your upper body. Every five minutes or so, stop at a bench and do 10-15 press-ups. Start with your body in a straight line, either place your hands on the bench backrest (easiest) or on the seat (harder) and lower yourself up and down. If you’re not in a park, use a tree or wall for standing press-ups.
FRIDAY: 20 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
Focus on your pace and technique. Good posture will help you avoid getting aches and pains from your daily strolls, so make sure you’re not slouching forwards or looking at the ground.
Imagine a string from the top of your head, pulling you up tall. See if you can keep up that briskness for the whole walk without unconsciously slipping into a stroll.
SATURDAY: 20 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
Today when you’re out on your walk, find a step or park bench every five minutes and step up on to it, then step back down.
Lead with your right leg, then step back down with the right leg first. Then step up with the left, stepping back down with the left. Aim for six to eight step-ups each time you stop.
SUNDAY: REST DAY OR MOBILITY WORK AT HOME
Complement your walking with a Pilates or yoga Youtube video to help build up your core stability and get the good mobility needed for fast, efficient walking.
Some well-chosen stretches can help you avoid some potential pitfalls of walking, such as an achy back and stiff legs and feet.
We love Brett Larkin’s Easy Yoga for Your Feet and Ankles (15-min). You can find it on Youtube.
Good posture will help you avoid getting aches and pains from your daily strolls, so make sure you’re not slouching!
WEEK TWO MONDAY: 25 MINUTES OF INTERVAL WALKING
Warm up by walking for five minutes. Then, do two minutes at a pace that you couldn’t sustain for the whole walk, so you are a bit more out of breath than usual; then two minutes at a steady pace. Do this four times. Then, walk at a steady pace for the final four minutes.
TUESDAY: 25 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING ON A HILLY ROUTE
Return to your previous hilly route, or find a new one. If it only has one or two short inclines, walk up them, back down and up them again, then continue with your walk so you get as much of a hill challenge as possible.
WEDNESDAY: 25-30 MINUTES BRISK WALKING
Stride out briskly and make sure you keep up the pace. Swing your arms to help your speed and look ahead of you. Repeat the upper body work you did in Week 1 by stopping to do some bench or tree press-ups every five minutes. Try to add five press-ups to the number you managed last week.
THURSDAY: 20 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
Walk for five minutes to warm up. Then every three minutes, lunge walk for 16-20 paces. Keeping your torso upright, take a big step forwards and bend your front knee to 90 degrees (or as close as you can get it), push back up, swing the back leg through and repeat. Lunge
walking opens up your hip flexors and strengthens the muscles in your legs and your bottom. FRIDAY: REST DAY
If you want to, today you can do a 15-minute steady walk. Include some mobility work at home as well, as you did on the Sunday of Week 1. Some stretches or a yoga session would be perfect. Maintaining mobility and flexibility will mean that you can walk further and faster without picking up injuries from tight hips or a stiff lower back.
SATURDAY: 30 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
Add in intervals into your training once again. Warm up by walking at a steady pace for five minutes and then aim for three minutes at a higher pace, with two minutes of recovery.
Do this four times so you get 20 minutes of interval training. Finish with five minutes at a steady pace to cool down.
SUNDAY: 35 MINUTES OF BRISK WALKING
You can walk for longer if you wish!
Your stamina and strength will have progressed hugely in the past fortnight because of all of the work that you’ve put in.
Enjoy your new fitness and keep up with the moves you’ve done in the last two weeks, such as press-ups and bench stepping.
You’ll notice that walking for this length of time at a brisk pace feels easier. The world is now your walking oyster!