Exercises are good for your workout program because they help tone flabby muscles while also burning calories. But aerobic exercise is best to burn fat. A great way to get an aerobic workout is to walk. Find out how many calories are burned walking with our handy calculator.
Walking is the easiest and most effective exercise we can use in our workout routine. But you need to know more than one foot in front of the other to get the most from walking as aerobic exercise.
Because of how the body draws on fat stores versus other stored energy sources, the first thing you need to do is increase the time you spend walking. 30 minutes of exercise is good for fat burning, when you walk, you really need to bump this up to at least 45 minutes, but ideally an hour.
Obviously, it might not be possible for you to fit an hour of walking into your busy schedule, but try walking every day allowing a few days for an hour and a few days at 30 minutes. Alternate them, however. If you walk an hour on Monday, walk half an hour on Tuesday, etc.
If you’re only going to be walking for 30 minutes, increase your speed. A leisurely stroll isn’t going to give you that aerobic workout that your body needs, so step it up a bit. But don”t overdo it. If you can’t talk and walk, you’re over-exerting yourself and you should back off a bit.
You can also introduce some type of weight for you to carry when you walk. This could be something simple like a small weight, or you can go to the pantry and pull out a couple of cans of corn! Keep them in your hands as you walk and move your arms back and forth in your strides. Adding weight will also help tone your arms — an added perk!
If you’re walking outdoors, perhaps in your neighborhood, take along an mp3 and play some upbeat music to keep you walking. Not only is it entertaining, it keeps you going as well!
At work, take the stairs instead of the elevator. When you park in a parking lot, park as far away from the door as possible so you have to walk further.
And remember, that all walking counts — even if it’s during a shopping trip to the mall!
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