Walking is one of the most natural and simplest forms of exercise that can be done by virtually anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. It’s also incredibly effective for improving overall health and helping to achieve a leaner, fitter body. However, walking alone won’t give you the results you want; it needs to be done intelligently in order to get the most out of your efforts. In this article, I’m going to share with you some of my top tips on how to use walking to become fit and lean – incorporating examples from my own personal experience.
Check this out: Why I Decided to Walk 20,000 Steps per Day
The Benefits Of Walking
Before we delve into the specifics of how to use walking as an effective form of exercise for achieving a lean physique, let’s talk about why it works so well in the first place. Firstly, it’s an incredibly low impact activity which means less stress on your joints than other forms of exercise such as running or cycling – making it suitable for individuals who may suffer from joint pain or mobility issues. It also burns calories without putting too much strain on your cardiovascular system – thus reducing your risk for injury. Furthermore, walking is remarkably easy to incorporate into everyday life as it doesn’t require any special equipment or even a gym membership – all you need are some comfortable shoes.
Start With A Plan
In order to get the most out of your walks and see results in terms of fat loss and improved muscle tone, you need structure and focus in your routine. The best way to do this is by setting yourself specific goals and creating a plan that will help you reach them. To begin with, decide what kind of pace you want to aim for during each walk – whether that be slow/moderate or fast-paced interval training (more on this later). Then set yourself an achievable target distance each time (e.g., 30 minutes) before gradually increasing it over time as your fitness levels improve. You should also consider where/when you go for each walk; try exploring different parks/trails near where you live for added interest and variety.
Interval Training: The Secret To Success
Interval training is key when it comes to using walking as an effective form of exercise for weight loss, healing and improved fitness levels. It involves alternating between periods of high intensity (fast-paced) walking with recovery periods at a slower pace. This allows you to push yourself harder during each workout session while still giving your body enough rest in between sets. My personal favorite type of interval training when it comes to walking is two minutes hard followed by one minute easy – repeating this process four times before finishing off with five minutes cool down. You can further vary this format depending on how much time/energy you have available on any given day. For example, if I only have 20 minutes then I might opt for one minute hard followed by one minute easy instead. By doing so I can still complete a decent amount of work without tiring myself out too much.
Check this out: The Amazing Healing Power of Walking
Strength Training & Core Work
If pure cardio isn’t quite enough then adding strength training exercises into your walks is another great way to take things up a notch. These don’t necessarily have to be dedicated strength workouts either; simply adding bodyweight exercises like lunges, squats or plank holds during rest intervals can make all the difference when trying to tone up those stubborn areas like legs and core. My favorite approach here is doing 10 reps per exercise at regular intervals throughout my walks (e.g., every 5 minutes). This gives me just enough time between sets so I’m not overly fatigued but also keeps me pushing forward towards my goals. Once again experimentation here is key; find out what works best for YOU rather than copying someone else’s program verbatim! This goes hand-in-hand with listening carefully to your body too – if something feels wrong then don’t do it! Only ever increase difficulty levels gradually based on how comfortable/challenging things are feeling at any given moment. The last thing we want is injury due to pushing ourselves too far too soon.
Wearables and Tracking Devices
In addition to keeping track of progress through careful planning and goal setting there are now plenty of wearables and tracking devices available on the market which help us stay motivated and accountable when exercising by showing us exactly how far we’ve walked, burned calories etc.. For instance, I recently purchased an Apple Watch which tracks my heart rate, steps taken, active energy burn etc.. All these stats provide valuable feedback which helps keep me focused and ensure I’m getting as close as possible to reaching my targets every single session. Additionally, there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing those numbers go up week after week.
Conclusion
Walking has been scientifically proven as one of the best ways to become fit and lea . By combining regular sessions with interval training, strength work and tracking devices we can quickly start seeing noticeable results within weeks. We just need patience, consistency and commitment. So why not lace up those sneakers today and start enjoying all the benefits that come from regular outdoor strolls .. Good luck!
