Effective Walking Exercise
Your Effective Walking Exercise Check-list
Proper Effective Walking Exercise Form
This is one last important part of making sure that you get the most out of your walks and that’s making sure that you use proper walking form. Now you might be thinking that it’s just walking so what would how you walk matter, but the truth is that it can have a huge impact on the effectiveness of your walks. Proper exercise form is crucial to any kind of exercise and walking is no exception.
Start by making sure that you’re standing upright with a straight back. You don’t have to be doing your best rigor-mortis impression, but you should be standing attentively so your spine is straight and aligned. The same goes for holding your head up straight. Slouching can lead to muscle strain and generally reduces the effectiveness of your walking and workouts. While walking try to focus on a spot ahead of you rather than looking at the ground as you go to avoid additional neck and shoulder strain.
While walking, keep your arms bent at close to a 90 degree angle and keep elbows tucked into the body, swinging loosely at your side. Try not to clench your hands either, just let them relax naturally or hold them in a loose fist. By holding your arms like this and swinging them back and forth, you actually increase the amount of calories you burn as well as making walking much easier!
What to watch out for while walking
Even if walking is a relatively low strain and impact exercise there are still things that you should be watching out for while you’re out walking. As a general rule of thumb you should keep some of these in mind as well as following general health and fitness safety precautions:
1. Take care when planning your route.
This is important especially if you’re walking somewhere you may not be used to or trying a new walking route. Remember that every hill you go down you’re going to likely have to go back up and unless you plan for a way to get back from your destination you’re going to be walking every step twice on your way back home. Whenever possible try to drive your walking route first and scout out any potential pitfalls in your route so you can avoid them ahead of time and always bring a phone or a way to contact someone for a ride if you need to.
2. Follow proper street safety.
Of course you already know to stay to the inside of the side-walk and cross at crossings, but you should take extra precautions when you don’t have these things available which is common in rural areas. If you don’t have a side-walk to stay on, walk on the shoulder of the side of the road with oncoming traffic so you can see any cars coming and won’t have any coming up behind you (particularly dangerous if you listen to music while you walk!). If walking in the early morning or late evening while it’s still dark, consider a reflective vest or badges/markers so cars don’t have any trouble seeing that you’re there.
3. Don’t walk on an injury.
It’s important to realize that even if walking isn’t strenuous it doesn’t mean that it’s strain free. You may think that it’s fine to walk on an injury that you may have sustained from day-to-day activities or even other fitness exercises, but don’t be fooled. Walking still engages your body’s muscles which can keep it from healing properly and can even make injuries worse if you aren’t careful. I know you don’t want to miss out on your exercise, but it’s safer and healthier to let yourself recover rather than walking so you don’t miss a day and getting hurt worse.
Don’t Stop With Just Walking!
Walking is a great first step that can get you ready and started on your way to a healthier body and mindset, but it’s not enough to just rely on walking alone. Once you feel more comfortable with exercise you should look at other fitness related activities that interest you to help you reach your weight loss goal. You can take up a sport, dive into swimming, or work with a fitness trainer to develop a personalized exercise plan.
Remember that walking is just the first steps that you’re taking to a healthier you, but the important part is actually taking them so get out there, get walking, and get healthy!
