Trim Down Quickly

Walking is one of the best exercises for weight loss and overall fitness.  Most other types of exercise do not use as many muscles in such a contintuous and even action.  Walking is something you can normally do at anytime in your life.  It has been found to be a very beneficial way of preventing heart related diseases and a great way to help those who already have had heart problems recover.

Walking can be considered a great life insurance policy because as your walking muscles get weaker, your whole body begins to get weaker.  If you are interested in beginning a walking program as a way to lose weight and get fit, there are a few things you should consider.  You want to find the best walking routine for you.  As always, it is wise to consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program.  If you have heart problems, take medication, or are over the age of 40 you will want to make sure your doctor is aware of these issues.

There are a few different forms of walking, and it makes sense to start out easy and work your way up as you get more comfortable.

Possible the slowest type of walking is just strolling.  You stroll at about 1 mile per hour.  While this may not seem to be much exercise, strolling allows you to stay at it for a long time and you can cover a lot of miles.  This adds up to impressive exercise.  Simple things like walking the dog will add to you mileage total and your weight loss.

Again strolling is beneficial because of the continuous use of the walking muscles.  These muscles help in circulation and the burning of calories, even if it is at a slow rate.  While strolling is definitely helpful, you wouldn’t want to count on it alone in your exercise program.  It’s not quite vigorous enough to really get the heart pumping.  It’s a great way to start, but to see the best benefits of walking for weight loss, you’ll need to pick up the pace a little.

When you speed up a little from strolling you are walking normally.  This doesn’t mean trying to keep up a quick pace, but you’re just walking as you would practically with a purpose.  Normaly walking is closer to 3 miles per hour pace.  A great way to improve your weight loss program is by simply adding more walking to it.

A great way to do this, if possible in your circumstance, is to walk to work.  If you spend time waiting for busses or trains, you might find that it doesn’t take you much more time to commute by walking.  Another way to add walking to your daily life is by taking hte stairs.  Avoid elevators.  Walk over to talk to someone rather than calling them or sending an email.  Also, during work breaks, take a walk to stretch your legs out.

A great weight loss tip is to take a walk before a meal.  This can actually lessen your apetite and therefore can be a great tool in helping to manage your weight.  Even if it’s a short 15 minute walk, you will see the benefits.

If you go on vacation, walking is a great way to see the sights.  Often guidebooks show great walking routes and can give you an estimate of how long the walking tour will take.  Walking lets you explore, learn, take extra time in neat places, and even meet local people.  It can’t be duplicated another way.  Heck, it even stimulates the brain by creating additional oxygen flow to the brain.  These bonuses beyond the health ones can’t be duplicated in a car.

If you really want to step up your walking execises to lose weight, you want to try aerobic walking.  This is walking done at a quick pace, with a duration or level of effort that gets the heart pumping.  Your lungs should be breathing rapidly and your arms should be pumping.  You can do this for 15 – 30 minutes at a time.  If you do this 3 times a week, again you will see results.  During these aerobic walks you should be trying to increase your heartrate to to about 3/4 of its max.

Normally you can reach aerobic walking by just increasing the pace.  But, there are other methods also like walking up an incline, hiking a mountain or even walking with some weight like a backpack.

It is becomming increasing popular to do long distance walking. There are a log of courses mapped out across the US.  These can have great results, but you’ll want to make sure you are prepared before embarking on one of these journeys.

You level of fitness should determine what walking style to use for your weight loss and fitness goals.  If you are just starting and aren’t very fit, walking slowly for 15 – 30 minutes might bring your heart rate up to its target zone while a super fit walker may have to wak much quicker for an hour to reach his desired heart rate.

Additionally your age comes into play when considering your target heart rate.  You can find several charts on internet that will give you age based targets for heart beats.

You can check your heart right during your walking exercise.  If necessary, stop in the middle and measure it then.  Simply count your heart beats for 10 seconds and multiply that number by six to get a good estimate of your heart beats per minute.

With that information you’ll know if you need to speed up or slow down to get into your target heart rate zone.  As I mentioned previously, the more fit you get and the more weight you lose, the harder you will have to work to get into your target heart rate.  Again, you can do this several ways including moving faster, walking longer, walking up an inclind, or walking carrying weight.  This will help you to continually increase your fitness.

Walking for weight loss is a fun and easy way to get fit.  The risk of injury is lower than most exercises and the results can be just as profound.  You can continue walking well into your old age and you’ll be glad if you do.  So get out there and see what walking can do for you.