Walk Your Way To Better Health

Walking is certainly great exercise that done regularly may lead you to better health. Whether you’re walking slowly or have a brisk pace, you’re burning more calories than you would be just sitting at home being idle. Getting yourself out there and active is beneficial to your health and even those who aren’t thrilled about exercising admit that going for regular walks is not that difficult or tedious.

Lots of people talk about burning calories. They’d like to burn off a certain amount each day, so they can maintain their ideal weight and level of health. Walking is a great way to burn some calories, and while you’re out there walking, there are actually things you can do to burn even more calories. Here’s how:

1. Get Those Arms Moving.

As you walk, get those arms swinging higher than you would normally swing them. Really concentrate on getting them to at least a 90-degree angle in front of you and in back of you as you walk. The result? You’ll burn at least 15% more calories.

2. Get A Better Pace Going.

Pick up your pace a little bit as you’re out there tearing up the sidewalk. If you increase your speed, you’ll burn more calories. Just upping your pace from three miles per hour to four miles per hour will help you burn about 20 more calories per workout. This might not seem like a lot, but over the course of a week it can add up to over 100 calories.

3. Walk Uphill.

Sure, it’s harder to walk uphill, but you’ll burn more calories by doing so. If you stay on the level path, you’ll be burning calories, but go for the gusto. Challenge yourself to find a hill and walk that baby once or twice to burn some extra calories.

4. Use Alternate Strides.

Change your steps up every, so often on your walk to use different muscle groups and burn more calories. Take short strides and switch it up to long strides. Do some lunges while walking. Walk on your tiptoes. Do high knees for a minute. Changing it up every so often makes it less monotonous and gets your body burning those extra calories.

5. Walk Longer.

If you’re used to walking 30 minutes at a time, add 5 minutes on here and there to burn extra calories. Or maybe one day you can walk for 30 minutes and the next 45 minutes. This will help you burn many more calories over time and it won’t feel like it’s too much.

Walking as exercise is a great way to foster optimal health. Take these tips into consideration as you continue on your exercise journey and burn as many calories as possible while enjoying your exercise at the same time.

(Talk to your doctor and/or healthcare professional before you start any type of new eating regimen or diet programs. The content and information on this webpage are for informational use only and should be carefully considered by the user.)