FITNESS WALKING
adapted from Fitness Handout by Penny Reeves-Goff


Looking to incorporate another activity into your fitness lifestyle? Whether you walk with your spouse or friend, in a walking class or as a supplement to your other workouts, walking provides a great low-impact workout. Walking firms up the whole body, concentrating on the buttocks and backs of the legs, as well as the tibialis muscles on the front of the lower legs. When you pump your arms as your walk, you also condition your upper body. Walking strengthens your bones, helping to fight bone loss due to osteoporosis, and it can also reduce stress, recharge your mind and energize your body!

Walk This Way
"Fitness walking" is walking that maintains a fast enough pace of sufficient duration to produce beneficial cardiovascular changes in the body. Simply put, you have to walk fast enough and long enough to make it work. Proper posture is also important. Hold your head in a neutral position (chin neither too high or too low); look straight ahead; keep your shoulder back and relaxed; lift your chest and swing your arms comfortably in rhythm with your legs.
The actual action of the foot during walking is a heel strike followed by rolling onto the ball of the foot and finishing with a strong push off the toes. Point your feet and knees straight ahead. If you include hills on your walks, you'll increase the walk load and the calories you burn. When going up and down hills, bend your knees slightly to reduce stress to the knee joint.

Pace Yourself
Your goal is to walk at a brisk pace (15 minutes per mile or faster) for 30-45 minutes per workout, but it is important to remember to start slowly! A gradual increase in intensity and duration helps to ensure long-term success and reduce the risk of injury. If you walk at a slow to moderate pace, you can use a straight arm swing, with the arms swinging in opposition to the legs.
If you're in good cardiovascular condition and plan to move at a fast pace or use hand weights, you'll need to use a bent-arm swing. As you increase the pace of your walk, it's no longer comfortable to swing straight arms fast enough to keep up with the increase frequency of the strides. If you're holding weights, swing your arms close to your torso with your forward arm rising to shoulder level or slightly above. To increase the walking pace, simply increase the speed of the arm swing. The leg action will naturally follow the cadence of the arms! Before adding hand-held weights, talk to a personal trainer or fitness instructor regarding proper form. The added weight will increase the intensity of the walk, but if you have to lower the intensity of your legs, you will be better off without the weights.

Like all forms of exercise, fitness walking demands a warm-up and cool-down. Five to ten minutes of walking at a slow pace will prepare the body for more vigorous walking. Cool down at the end by slowing your pace for five to ten minutes. At the end of the cool-down, stretch the tibialis and calves (front and back of the lower legs) and the quadriceps and hamstrings (front and back of the upper legs). Drink plenty of water before, during and after your walk-especially on hot days.

Other Steps to Consider
A serious fitness walker needs shoes designed specifically for walking. Walking shoes have a lower profile than running shoes but still have good cushioning for the heel, a firm heel cup for stability and plenty of room for the toes to spread out.
The best surfaces for walking are those designed for shock absorption. Dirt, grass and running trails are ideal. Concrete wears shoes out faster and is slightly harder on your joints and muscles. Asphalt absorbs more heat, so during hot summer months, your feet may get hotter.

Walking for fitness is about as hassle-free as a physical activity can be. All it takes is putting one foot in front of the other!