Walking for Fitness and Fat Loss by Rick Porter

Begin Your Fitness Plan by Walking

As a fitness trainer I hear excuses all the time about why someone doesn't have any time to shape up and start losing weight and begin a fat loss program. When you really put someone's lifestyle under the microscope and examine their time and resources it usually becomes pretty clear that they do have enough time but they just don't want to do change their lifestyle. I have found that everyone has enough time for a reasonable fitness plan but each person may have different resources available to them. If you don't have a gym membership or exercise equipment you shouldn't let that stop you from dropping the unwanted pounds that you have been carrying around. Here are a few simple ways to add walking to your exercise plan.

At What Pace Should I Walk For Best Results?

Many people think that burning fat requires long hours of intensive cardio so rather than exercise they do nothing. It's true that doing intensive cardio and weight training has a strong effect on increasing your metabolism and fat loss due to the increased heart rate and aerobic activity but walking has some outstanding benefits as well. For someone that is either obese or not in good enough condition to start a cardio program walking is the perfect way to start. Walking at a slow pace of 2 mph actually burns more calories per mile than walking at a moderate to fast 3-4 mph pace. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that walking at a slower pace reduces your walking efficiency. How does being less efficient burn more calories? Think of a fuel efficient car that can run on less fuel. The body is the same way. The faster you move the more efficient the motion is and there is greater momentum to push you forward thus using less overall calories. The slower pace also puts less overall stress on the joints. Once you have dropped weight and got yourself into better condition you can start increasing the pace and increasing the distance. This will then get you into your target heart rate for fat burning. To figure out your target heart rate you can use one of many online calculators.

Take the Stairs - Add More Walking To Your Day To Day Activities

Elevators have made life easier but did you know that walking up a flight up stairs burns a tremendous amount of energy? It's not a very efficient movement for the body because we are not used to doing it like we are walking. If you typically use an elevator to go to the 3rd or 4th floor of a building try switching to taking the stairs. During the course of a year you will have burned off enough calories to equal a couple pounds of fat by just doing that. Another easy way to walk more is by parking further away from buildings. How many of you are guilty of driving around a parking lot for 5 minutes just so that you don't have to walk an extra 50 feet? On your next trip to go shopping park further away. Do this consistently throughout the year and you will have burned enough calories for another pound or two of fat. If you have a dog start taking them for longer walks (they love the exercise and extra time with you!). If you have been gaining a pound or two per year then try a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood after dinner with your spouse or family. It can add up over the year to burning enough calories to keep you from gaining that yearly weight.

Increase The Difficulty

If you are looking to add a challenge to your walk there are a few things you can do to boost the calories per mile. You can purchase a weight vest that will allow you to add weight in 5 pound increments up to 40 pounds. Once you have dropped a lot of weight or if you are lean already this will really up the ante for fat burning and difficulty. If you don't want to invest in a weight vest a pair of light dumbbells can suffice. They might not seem much for the first mile but the added weight really starts to become apparent once you are a couple miles into your workout. The added weight will burn more calories and make it easier to increase your heart rate to your target. There is also a way to maximize your time and get an abdominal workout in while you walk. While you are walking at a slow pace suck your abdominals in from the diaphragm like a vacuum. Hold it in place for 5 seconds and then let it back out. Hold it as tight as you can for a 5 count. If you have weak abdominal muscles this will actually be very challenging at first and takes a bit of concentration. Do this for 5-10 repetitions holding for a 5 count and as the weeks go by work up to 25 reps and hold as long as 10 seconds. Also walking with proper posture rather than hunching forward will work your core muscles and abdominals. If you find your lower back is starting to hurt from walking there is a good chance it is due to weak abdominal muscles. If you decide to do these ab strengthening exercises during your walk then make sure to do them at the end. You want your abs to be strong and fresh for the entire walk so that your back doesn't fatigue. You can also purchase an inexpensive treadmill for home and put it at an incline. An incline of a few degrees increases the difficulty exponentially. Many bodybuilders that carry a lot of extra pounds on their body have found that simple treadmill work at an incline is a great way to strip off body fat quickly without putting excess stress on the joints. Adding to the difficulty with light dumbbells will burn more calories.

Decrease The Boredom

For some people walking may still seem boring and might need something to take their minds off of it. There are a few simple tricks for this as well. Download your favorite music into an iPod. If you aren't a fan of music but love to read you can actually get many of today's bestsellers in MP3 format. You can also download courses on just about anything and turn your daily walk into a time to learn new skills.

Begin Now

Start walking and start enjoying the benefits of extra calories burned everyday. If you are looking for a serious and more advanced fat burning workout I suggest you try High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) by clicking here to see this workout. These 18 minute workouts will increase your metabolism to new levels and strip body fat off quickly.

About the Author

Get a FREE FAT LOSS WORKOUT with my favorite recipes for ripped abs by clicking here! If you want to know How To Get Ripped Abs check out the How to Get Ripped Abs Review. See the complete details of the system to get ultra lean or in phenomenal condition for the most intensive sports.