I've heard before that sometimes, when you walk, you can burn as many calories as when you run.
It seems a little strange considering when you're running you're not only feeling all the muscles in your body move, but also sweating up a storm!
But sometimes, the strength involved in moving at a slower pace can actually help you burn more calories.
For instance, one trick is walking briskly on a treadmill at a high incline. This not only forces you to work very hard in terms of cadence, but also in terms of pushing yourself to get up a hill.
Another trick is interval walking, which means walking briskly for a specific amount of time and then walking at a slower pace. This helps to raise and lower your heart rates, helping you burn more fat.
While long walks take more time and do not work your body as hard instantly as you would hope during a workout, the endurance needed to complete the walk is surprisingly a great workout! I know that by the time I'm done with a lonnnnnnng long walk, my legs feel like jello-and I feel great about it!
One of the more obvious ways to burn extra fat on the walk is to be doing something with your arms. If you can bring along small weights (no more than 5 lbs. each), you will be exercising your arms at the same time as your legs-which is always a good thing when you're trying to lose weight.
For more tips on how to make the most of your walks, click here.
posted @ Saturday, May 08, 2010 7:45 PM