Power Walking?!

Here is an article I found at Prevention.com on power walking.  While I prefer running, its a fact that if you start from the top there is nowhere to go but down.  So if you are new to this whole exercise thing, walking is the best way to start….and it works well at burning calories too.  Take a read:

Thousands of doctors recommend it. Hundreds of studies extol its benefits. It’s simple. It’s enjoyable. You can do it virtually anywhere. And, when it’s done right, walking can blast away fat as fast as jogging–maybe faster. Even better, power walking is easier on your joints, since you hit the ground with less than half the force you do when you jog. As a result, you’re less likely to have your fitness goals sidelined by soreness or injury.

The secret is shifting from the typical window-shopping stroll to a more athletic gait and pace. It takes a little practice, but the payoff is a lower-body makeover that’ll definitely put some strut in your step.

This is a moderate-impact aerobic activity, so you know the first thing you have to do is get yourself some good shoes. Prevent sore, achy feet by wearing walking shoes that are light, roomy, and flexible. When you bend the shoe, it should yield easily at the ball of the foot. When it’s on your foot, there should be a thumb’s width of space from the end of your longest toe to the front of the shoe. If your shoes are too stiff or too tight, you’ll be battling tingling toes and achy joints 20 minutes into the walk. Next, you want to work on your pace. For optimum calorie burning, I recommend aiming to walk at about a 4.5-mile per hour (mph) pace. Fitness scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered that if you walk at this pace, you can burn almost as many calories (201 per 30 minutes, based on a 140-pound woman) as someone jogging at about the same speed (223 calories per 30 minutes) because you’re using the same amount of energy to stay in motion. Of course 4.5 mph is a fast walk; if you haven’t been walking regularly, you shouldn’t expect to hit that speed right out of the gate. Start at a slower pace and use the same fat-burning power walking form to work up to this speed.

* Excerpted from Perfectly Fit by Selene Yeager (Rodale Inc., 2001).

Here is a quick video of my hill walk from this week (still practicing my cinematography).  If I can do it….SO CAN YOU.  Carnival is coming…make sure you are ready.

Remember to visit the Lehwego store for your walking and other Carnival needs.