Walking fitness is a great way of maintaining your health. The goal is to build muscles at the same time protecting the joints. Some people walk for their fitness programs with the goal to lose weight while others walk to improve their overall health.
In other words, the goals for a walking fitness program can be varied and as individual as you are. You are the one that must set the goals you have for your walking program and they are developed after asking yourself several questions.
First, what is your primary goal? Do you want to lose weight, improve your cardiovascular system or are you looking for an improvement in your general conditioning? Alternatively, are you interested in all 3 goals? What is your current level of fitness? Before beginning a walking program you must begin from the beginning.
That sounds rather basic – but too often people are interested in jumping right in to a rigorous program that will lead to injury and problems. You’ll stop your exercise program because you are tired, injured or just sore.
How much time do you have to devote to a walking fitness program? Can you do it in 15 minute spurts during the day or do you have 60 minutes you can walk all at once?
After answering all of those questions you’ll have a better chance of setting up goals for a walking program that are realistic and which you can achieve. You should always start a program slowly. For instance, if you’ve been a couch potato for several years – set a goal of walking out the door 5 days a week and seeing where the walk takes you.
You can set a goal of walking for 5 minutes or 15 minutes, but the goal is to take that action and get it done. Once your first 15 minute walks become easy for you try adding 5 minutes each week until you can walk for 30 minutes to an hour a day.
One of the toughest parts of starting a walking fitness program is getting started and developing the habit. Walk fast enough to reach your target heart rate, but don’t leave yourself gasping for air. The goal of this walking program is to increase your heart rate so your heart is getting a bit of a workout as well as your legs.
Walking is a strong method of improving your cardiovascular fitness when you are starting from years of being seated without exercise. If you want to improve your overall general health, then aim for about 30 minutes 3-4 days a week at a rate that increases your heart rate.
If you are walking to improve your cardiovascular health then you should walk for 20-30 minutes 3-5 days a week at a very fast pace. To achieve weight loss you’ll want to walk a minimum of 5 days a week for 45-60 minutes at a brisk pace.
To improve your overall health you goal is to get your heart pumping and using the muscles in your legs. All of this increases the oxygenation in your body, cells and brain. You’ll find that you experience more creativity and will be productive in your problem solving while you are out walking.
Goals of weight loss require longer activity for calorie burn and a greater muscle development. These muscles will continue to burn more calories all day than the fat they are replacing. And, cardiovascular fitness requires shorter bursts of exercise at a faster pace to get your heart beating faster – and working harder.
Today the world is turning at a fast pace, and due to technology, most of us sit behind a desk all day long keying in data. For this reason, we need to find ways to improve our health. The answer can rest in awalking fitness program.
RESOURCES
TheWalkingSite: Beginnning a Fitness Walking Program
ShareCare: What are Realistic Goals I can Set When Walking for Fitness
Prevention: 14 Walking Workouts to Burn Fat and Boost Eenrgy
