Exercise is an important part of losing weight. In fact, it is difficult to lose weight or maintain weight loss without physical activity. While walking is not considered a high-intensity exercise, it is a great activity to add to your daily routine to help increase your total calorie burn and improve your fitness. Just adding 30 minutes of walking a day can burn up to 150 extra calories a day. Furthermore, walking is a low-intensity exercise that is suitable for most people, unlike running or jogging. Adding regular walking to your workout routine can help you lose weight.
How does walking help you lose weight?
1. Walk with the right posture
Like most other exercises, walking also requires good posture. Although it is a low-intensity exercise, if you walk incorrectly, you can increase your risk of pain and injury.
- When walking, keep your shoulders back, down, and relaxed. Your head is high and facing straight ahead.
- Step forward, leading with your heels. Always aim to go from heel to toe. As you step forward, push off with your toes.
- To activate your entire body, swing your arms with your legs. Swing your arms in the opposite direction of your legs.
2. Aim for at least 30 minutes of walking each day
Health experts recommend that you get at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week.
- Walking for 30 minutes, five days a week can help you reach your 150-minute goal, or about 2.5 hours a week; however, this is only enough to maintain your weight.
- Most health experts recommend increasing your walking time to 45 minutes most days. The increased time helps you burn more calories each time you walk.
- If 45 minutes is too long for you at first, start with 10, 20, or 30 minutes. Gradually increasing to 30 or 45 minutes over time is a great way to start.
3. Increase your speed
In addition to increasing your total walking time, gradually increase your speed. A higher intensity can help you reach your weight goals faster.
Studies have shown that short, high-intensity walks can help burn more fat than long, slow walks. Specifically, brisk walking burns more belly fat (especially in women). Gradually increase your walking intensity or walk briskly. This is equivalent to about 4 miles per hour if you are tracking or using a treadmill. Brisk walking can burn up to 550 calories, depending on a person’s age, weight, fitness level, and gender.
4. Assess Your Walking Intensity
If you have been walking for a few weeks and want to increase your intensity and total calories burned, you will need to assess your current intensity level and find ways to increase it.
If you are exercising at a moderate intensity, you will be able to talk and converse with someone, but not to the point of being completely out of breath. If you are exercising at a moderate to high intensity, you will be very out of breath and only able to speak in short sentences without stopping to catch your breath.
Aside from walking faster or increasing your speed, there are other ways you can increase your walking intensity or increase your calorie burn.
You can try walking uphill or carrying a stroller (if you have one). Put ankle weights or hand weights in a well-fitting backpack, wear them for short periods of one to two minutes, then put them back in the backpack. Wearing ankle weights or dumbbells for 20 minutes or longer can lead to injury and/or joint problems in the knees, hips, elbows, and shoulders, so only wear them for short periods if you plan to use them during your workout.
5. Take one to two rest days per week
Regular rest days are important for anyone who exercises regularly. This allows your body to rest and recover properly.
- If you overdo any form of exercise, you can increase your risk of injury, soreness, and even “exercise burnout.”
- Take a day off from your regular workout routine every few days. For example, work out for two days, then take a day off.
- On your rest days, try to move around. Instead of walking, you can stretch or do restorative yoga.
Thus, just walking properly and regularly every day can also help you control your weight effectively. Walking is not only easy to do, suitable for most people, but also brings many benefits such as improving cardiovascular health, increasing calorie burning and supporting a more comfortable spirit. The important thing is that you need to know how to walk scientifically to optimize the weight loss benefits.
