Benefits of Fitness Walking - 3 Ways to Build a Strong Body and Heart
The benefits of fitness walking are numerous! In this article you will learn 3 ways to build a strong body and heart by incorporating fitness walking into your walking routine.
What is Fitness Walking?
Fitness walking is Walking at a pace where talking to someone is labored.
Fitness walking is a more intense form of walking. My first book, Walking for Health and Fitness, describes fitness walking as walking at a faster pace of 14-16 minutes per mile. In this article, I want to redefine fitness walking as; walking faster and adding bodyweight fitness exercises to supercharge the fitness aspect of walking.
Fitness walking is the perfect low impact way to get fit and stay fit! Because fitness walking is so low-impact on your body, there is little risk of injury.
The 2 main goals of this new definition of fitness walking are to build muscle and increase your heart rate.
3 Ways to Builds a Strong Body and Heart:
Walk Faster
In my blog post Increase Average Walking Speed with More STEPS I show you how to walk faster and more importantly why walking faster will help you live longer. Older adults capable of walking 2.25 miles per hour or faster consistently lived longer than others within their age group.
Walk Uphill
In How to Walk Up Hills, I explain the benefits of walking hills. You build balanced leg muscles, burn more calories, boost your heart rate, and improve our core muscles.
Add Bodyweight Fitness Exercises to Your Walking Routine
By fitness exercises, I mean bodyweight exercises you can do while out walking… no need for special equipment or a gym. Your body will provide all the resistance you need for a fit, firm, and strong body.
Health benefits of fitness walking include:
Weight loss
Improved health
Increased energy
Improved mood
Stronger muscles and bones
Longevity
Fitness walking utilizes the hips, buttocks, lower back, abdominals, and upper body muscles.
When you are Fitness Walking, you can generally walk a mile between 14-16 minutes.
When should you begin fitness walking?
As pleasure walking gets easier, you’ll know it’s time to transition to fitness walking.
You should begin fitness walking when you feel comfortable pleasure walking for at least 30 minutes at a time. As you begin your walking program, you will get to know your body and how it is responding to the new walking routine.
The Walking for Health and Fitness website and original blog post was designed for you to get the most out of walking for the remainder of your life.
Fitness does not “travel” on a straight line up. Some days you will need to back off and take it easy. Only you know your body. Always err on the side of caution.
Keep in mind the expression, “slow and steady wins the race.” In this case slow and steady is the progress you will be making by fitness walking as your exercise of choice
If you don’t feel like fitness walking one day, then don’t. Going back to pleasure walking is just great.
If you continue to enjoy walking, then my information has done its job!
How to transition to fitness walking?
The following is an excellent way to transition to fitness walking.
You can break this up in any way you’d like.
Within a “pleasure” walk, you pick up the pace for 5 minutes, slow down for 2 minutes, pick it up again for 5 minutes, slow down for 2 then pick it up again for 5 minutes.
This would give you 15 minutes of fitness walking (approx. 1 mile)
How Much Should You Do?
Fitness walk 3-5 times per week
It doesn’t have to be done all at one time 20-minutes in the morning before you start your day then 20-minutes at lunchtime or after dinner is all you need to get into great shape.
A gradual build up to this number
Begin with 1 day in which you fitness walk
Again, a fitness walk is considered to be 14-16 minutes to cover a mile.
One day will eventually become two days, two will become three, and so on, and so on!
Determining Intensity of a Fitness Walk
Intensity is the major factor for fitness walking!
You Will Track Intensity Via:
Perceived exertion
Aim for 6-7 on the scale (again, this is your perceived exertion, so only you can determine this).
Talk test
Speaking out loud should be an effort. You can only speak in short sentences.
If you can carry on a full conversation, pick up the pace!
If you can’t speak at all, slow it down!
Walking Form for Fitness Walking
Head up and centered
Shoulders back
Chest naturally lifted
Arms low and slightly bent
Hands loosely cupped
Abdominals: belly button pulled towards the spine
Hips loose and natural
Thighs: natural movement; a link between your hips and lower leg
Feet: heels strike the ground first
Breathing and heart rate: keep breathing smoothly, deeply, and regularly. If breathing in a relaxed manner, then your heart will beat steadily and rhythmically.
Benefits of adding Body Weight Exercises to Your Next Fitness Walk
Add a series of bodyweight fitness exercises to supercharge your fitness level! The best part of your new fitness routine is that you will do it during your walks.
Stop at a safe location along your walking route then stop and perform a set of pushups. If you have never done pushups then read my article on the 11 Benefits of Pushups for a Stronger Body. Perform a comfortable number. Then get up and walk for a few minutes then stop and perform pushups again or any number of other bodyweight exercises such as squats (read Benefits of Bodyweight Squats), planks, or lunges. If you walk in a park that has benches then do a set of dips.
Best bodyweight exercise you can do while walking
Pushups
Squats
Lunges
Shoulder Planks
Benefits of Bodyweight Exercises
Promotes “youth hormones”
An Effective strength training regimen promotes the release of vital “youth” hormones:
Testosterone (for men)
Estradiol and Estrogen (for women)
Strength training helps prevent the loss of muscular strength known to accompany aging.
It’s free
When I say “strength training” I don’t mean heading to the gym and using stationary machines either. Your body weight is all you need to get these fantastic benefits.
Improves your balance and flexibility
Bodyweight training engages your core muscles, including the muscles that support good back health, and improves strength in your limbs.
More than one-third of persons 65 years of age or older fall each year, and in half of such cases, the falls are recurrent.
Falls are the main cause of morbidity and disability in the elderly.
Variety
You have so many choices of exercises. Change it up every workout to tone your whole body.
Change the locations in which to work out. On a beautiful fall day head to a park and enjoy the leaves changing colors. Hot summer day…get to the beach and workout along the shoreline.
“HIIT” – High-Intensity Interval Training”
The HIIT exercises allow you to activate more muscles during your workouts, burn more calories while you work out, and keep burning calories (and activating your cells’ mitochondria) after you’re done working out.
Quick and to the point
Quick sets of bodyweight exercises have been proven to help with weight loss more effectively than long cardio sessions. The results of bodyweight exercises is a lean, fit, strong body.
Research shows that Walking:
Reduce stress
Ward off anxiety and feelings of depression
Boost self-esteem
Improve sleep
Your Next Step
Learn more about The Fitness Walking Exercise Program which takes fitness walking to a new level.
In the 35 minute audio track, you will add bodyweight exercises to your walk and complete a 40-second set every 4 minutes. You will complete 8 sets, 32-minutes and a 3 min cool down…35-minutes in total for a great workout.
The Fitness Walking Exercise Program supercharges your workout this the addition of positive affirmations spoken to you throughout the workout.
I hope in reading the Benefits of Fitness Walking and it’s 3 Ways to Builds a Strong Body and Heart you will begin your walking and exercise journey to good health and fitness.
Walk on,
Frank Ring
Author: Walking for Health and Fitness, Fitness Walking and Bodyweight Exercises, and my latest release, Walking Inspiration.
Contact Frank at Frank@walkingforhealthandfitness.com
