You have probably discovered the way walking helps clear your mind and lower your stress. And perhaps you’ve noticed how walking improves your mood and boosts your productivity and creativity. Yes, walking has plenty of mental health benefits, but what do you do if you’re looking to improve your fitness? You guessed it. Go for a walk.
The great thing about walking is that you get to set your pace. You get to decide what you need from that walk, whether it be a time to mentally reset, or a time to power up and put your body to work. So where do you start when you want to walk for more physical benefits?
As you work to improve your fitness with walking, you’ll want to find ways to get your heart rate up. If you’re new to walking, start out by focusing on the length of your walks. Choose a set amount of time you can walk and try to maintain your pace throughout the duration of your walk. Practice that pace for your designated length of time 3-5 times a week for a great way to start conditioning your body. Increase the time you’re walking as you’re able to keep progressing toward your fitness goals. Remember, your walking journey is your own, so whether you’re walking for 5-minute stretches, 20 or 60 minutes, just stay consistent and practice keeping your pace.
From there, work on increasing your pace, and even mixing in intervals where you walk at a brisk pace for a set amount of time, followed by a short recovery time. 99 Walks offers coach-led fitness audio classes that will guide you through interval walks helping you know when to push faster and when to slow down. The variety of classes offered also allows you to vary up your walks to challenge your mind and body, resulting in improved fitness. Soon you’ll be mixing in muscle-strengthening and balance-building exercises like lunges, squats, walking jabs, and more!
How can you tell if you’re challenging your fitness level? A great way to measure your exertion while on a walk is to perform the “talk test.” To put it simply, you’ll be able to speak or sing while walking at an easy pace. As you increase your intensity, your ability to talk will lessen, changing to short sentences as you reach a brisker pace, to broken speech at a moderate pace, and finally the inability to speak where you focus solely on your breathing to help power you through at a power pace.
When walking for fitness, body awareness is extremely important. You will want to maintain proper form and technique to help you crush your walking goals, prevent injury due to improper walking habits, and to improve overall movement and function necessary to safely progress walking mileage. Read about 6 simple steps to ensure proper walking form HERE.
Sure, walking for fitness will build your muscles and strengthen your heart. It will expand your lung capacity, lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer, but have you stopped to think about how an intentional walking practice has added more opportunities to your life?
Opportunities like walking a 5k when before you were only able to walk a half mile.
Opportunities to keep up with your children or grandchildren as they run to and from exhibits at the zoo.
Opportunities to dance at a family wedding.
Opportunities to spend the day with friends at the antique fair.
Opportunities to breathe in the fresh mountain air from the summit.
Opportunities to watch the sun rise as you stroll along the beach.
There’s no doubt that walking is a great fitness activity. But what’s important to realize is the doors it opens up in your life. The obstacles you can now climb. The sights you can now see. It builds your capacity to live your life in the fullest way possible.
Is walking enough? Does it count? Of course it counts. Your walking practice is designed to fuel, inspire and enable you to do other things. It’s the foundation for all the benefits that walking brings, but is the gateway for you to do all the other things in your life. So, power up and get walking. For fitness. For life.
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