June 4th, 2010Easy Ways To Fit A Walking Workout Into Your Day
Walking is a fantastic way to exercise. The large majority of us do it on a daily basis. Apart from a comfortable pair of shoes, it requires no special equipment – and you can fit it into your daily schedule whenever it’s convenient for you. There are no costly monthly membership fees to pay – so it’s also a very cost effective way to take exercise.
There are so many health benefits associated with walking that it’s almost difficult to credit that these are available from a low impact, low injury risk exercise format. The important thing is consistency – low level exercise, performed on a regular basis is very much better for you than infrequent and periodic spells of intense physical activity.
Thirty minutes of walking, three or four times a week, on a regular basis, will produce results that you can both see and feel. If you can work up to 10,000 steps a day – that’s somewhere between four and a half and five miles for most people – you will really reap the rewards.
There are any number of opportunities to get a little extra walking in each day. If you have the time to schedule in a thirty minute or one hour walking session then that’s ideal. However, if that’s not possible for you then don’t worry – there are plenty of ways to increase your daily step count.
Leaving the car and walking to work or the shops is an oft repeated piece of good advice. If that’s not a practical proposition for you due to the distance involved then take the car as normal – no need to feel guilty. Just park in a faraway corner of the parking lot so that you can have a slightly longer walk than normal to the entrance. If you travel by bus or metro then maybe you could get off a couple of stops in advance of your destination and complete your journey by walking.
During your lunch break, take a ten or fifteen minute walk around the block. It’ll be better for you than munching a sandwich in front of your computer (you’ll have more energy and be more mentally alert in the afternoon as well). Put modern technology to work and walk around when you’re talking on your cordless or mobile phone. You can fit in an extra 1,000 paces during a single fifteen minute telephone conversation. That’s the kind of multi-tasking that’s a real benefit to you!
If the bulk of your walking activity is slotted into your day in discrete sections, then you may want to consider purchasing a pedometer – these are available starting at less than $10 these days. You can carry one of these in your pocket or attach it to your belt. It will let you track and record your progress in terms of the number of steps taken, the number of calories burned or the total distance covered. Keeping track of your progress like this might help to keep you motivated and will encourage you to look for other ways to build walking into your daily routine.
Have a look at the massive selection of styles available from Fitflops – sandals, boots, clogs and slippers.