Walking has been
known to reduce the risk of heart diseases, colon cancer, breast
cancer, diabetes, stroke, and other similar disorders. And walking
is one of the most effective exercises to lose weight and build
muscles.
Weight can be viewed as the
result of two processes. The first process is the eating of
calories and the second is the burning of calories. If a person
eats more calories than he can burn, then he gains weight. Thus,
to lose weight, a person must eat less calories and burn more.
The calories that a person burns must come from the stored fat
in his body. One pound of body fat is equal to about 3,500 calories.
If you plan to lose about one to two pounds a week, then you
should burn an equivalent number of calories. And the right
kind of walking exercise can help you burn these calories.
How should one walk in order
to lose pounds? First, you must do a warm up walk. This is an
easy walk that should last between five to ten minutes. This
warm up walk will signal your muscles that you are about to
engage in a pound-losing walking exercise and that your muscles
should burn calories from stored fat.
After the warm-up walk, do
some stretching or flexibility exercises before you begin walking
at a faster pace. This faster pace should be similar to walking
when you know that you are about ten minutes late for an important
appointment. You can hear your breathing but it is not too labored
because you can still carry on sentence-long conversations.
When you walk at such an intense and determined pace, more calories
are burned because more muscles (including those of the arms)
are involved.
This body-shaping walking exercise
should last between thirty minutes to one hour. If you are a
beginner doing this walking exercise, it is best that you concentrate
on how far you can walk before you work on your speed. To have
an idea of how far should you ideally walk, you should remember
that for an average 160-pound person, walking one mile is equivalent
to burning 100 calories. If you are already walking twenty miles
a week, then you should attempt to increase your speed. Aim
to cover one mile in less than thirteen minutes.
Once you are done with the
fast-paced body-shaping walk, slow down and continue walking
at a more comfortable rate for the next five minutes. You are
now giving your muscles the signals that you are about to be
done. After the slow-paced walk, do gentle stretching exercises
again. Then, you are set and ready to tackle the next activities
of the day.
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