Walking is a great form of exercise because you can can do it at any time, and it’s easy to include in your daily routine. Contrary to popular belief, you can get a great workout from walking. Studies show you can burn just as many calories walking as running, and reduce your risk of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. However, to reap these benefits, your walk in the park shouldn’t always feel like a walk in the park!
If you aren’t breaking a sweat and you don’t feel your heart pumping, your walking routine is probably too easy
It’s important to make sure you’re walking at a pace and rate where you can truly achieve the benefits and impact you want to have in your routine. Here are three ways to determine if your walking routine is too easy and tips to turn up the intensity:
1. You’re able to talk nonstop with your walking buddies.
Having someone to walk with is great to help keep you motivated, but if you are using this as catch up time to stroll and talk, your walking won’t be as effective as it could be. Take the “talk test” to measure if your walking is intense enough. Talk out loud when you are walking (if you’re alone this may look a little interesting, but don’t worry about that!).
If you can carry on a conversation or sing a song while walking and there is not an increase in how you are breathing, your walking pace is not fast enough. However, if you need to breathe deeply every few words, then your pace is brisk enough. And conversely, if you are unable to hold a conversation at all, you need to slow down.
Walking Tip: If you are a new walker, it’s OK if your pace is not as fast as others. You can always change up your walking pace where it is slow, then go to a moderate or faster pace for 5-minute increments, then reduce your walking speed to a lower speed. This provides some variation in your walking, and you still reap the benefits as well. If you are trying to have a steady pace, you can always use a treadmill which will measure your speed more accurately and also your heart rate.
3 Signs Your Walking Workout Is Too Easy was originally published on blackdoctor.org
