How to Lose Weight by Walking

With all the complicated machines emerging to aid weight loss, we seem to be missing out on one of the most effective, most basic and definitely one of the cheapest forms of exercise – walking. When done almost every day, walking can produce astounding benefits for a person including reduction of blood cholesterol, over all calories and upgrade of bone strength.. Not only that, there are no special equipments required and it can be a form of social activity which just makes doing it so much more fun than actually going to the gym.

Accessories

When you decide to start walking for weight loss, be sure to make the necessary steps to protect yourself from possible injury. For example, look for the most comfortable pair of shoes you can find, a water container, comfortable clothes and perhaps an iPod. If you want an accurate reading of the calories you’ve burned off, then you can also purchase a heart rate monitor.

Warm Ups

Before starting your walking exercise, it is important to first undergo a series of warm ups. Try stretching for a few minutes or even walking in place just to get the blood pumping. After walking, you should stretch your muscles again to help them relax.

Where to Walk

Walking has the novelty of being useful and enjoyable at the same time. You can walk anywhere you like provided it’s safe, in fact all it really depends on is the time you can spare when walking. However, if you are targeting to burn a specific level of calories, then the result will depend on your speed and current weight. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, calories burned walking will be 80 calories at 2.0 mph, 74 at 3.0 and 102 at 5.0 mph.

Additional Walking Tips

Make your walk as natural as possible with swinging arms and breathing deeply. A good posture is vital with the shoulders relaxed and the head comfortably lifted. Changing the routes of your walk is also ideal as long as you make sure that you are still covering the distance that you want. Challenge yourself by walking up and down hills, but don’t do so if you’re having hard time breathing. As you become more familiar with the routine, change your intensity and the length of your walks. For added convenience you can take an iPod with you and listen to music or even better, have a friend walk with you for added motivation. Walk for charities is also an excellent way to practice you new found hobby as well as contributing to a worthy cause.

If you want, you can also insert a bit of jogging to the routine. However, studies show that there is no significant difference in calories burned between walking and running/jogging. What really counts here is how far you have traveled or the distance you have covered. So basically, if you continually up the length of your exercise, you should be burning more calories than a runner who runs within a prescribed distance. Also, if you really want a successful campaign, then you must also make sure that you get a proper diet plus the exercises. Make sure that you are maintaining a proper diet as well as a routine exercise such as walking for weight loss.

Bob Brendon
Inner Thigh Exercises
Inner Thigh Exercises

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