This is a great article about how to burn fat by walking;
"Walking can burn fats if we know how best to walk to burn fats. First of all, you need to work at the aerobic state, that is, raising your heart rate gradually to a comfortable one above your normal heart rate. If you start out too quickly, chances are that you will stop altogether or stop and then start, then stop and start all over again. That is bad for the heart and leg muscles.
Recognize that when we start feeling aches in our legs and uncomfortable breathing after the first one or two minutes, that is not the time to stop walking but to keep walking at the same pace until you feel comfortable. The discomfort is a way of letting us know that we are burning up blood sugar and soon our body system will start burning fats. Breathe deep and keep walking! If we stop walking whenever we fell the initial soreness, the lactic acid which is accumulating will not be burnt off and we will feel less inclined to want to continue walking...."
was very interested in this one i walk about five miles a day but dont walk fast enough to shed the pounds, snails overtake me....
so should i walk less distance and pick up the speed or is there some trick to the walking like pumping your arms as i go?
Domestic, I used to walk a ton and never noticed a change in my body's shape, until I really started to pay attention to how I walked. It's all about quality over quantity, meaning....pumping your arms, picking up the pace and most definitely taking longer strides helps a lot. I walk up steep hills slowly, but I take long strides and almost do a kick back motion with my back leg where I tighten my quad and glutes. When I started implementing these tactics into my daily walks, it noticed a big difference. So, definitely walking less miles at a brisker pace and pumping your arms will do the trick. As well, if you can make your way up hills and try the lunge-style walking, you'll definitely notice a difference. Hope this helps a bit.
i live at the bottom of one hill and the shop is at the top of another so its all up and down i will try that tomorrow when i go for the paper, how far out should my arms go? and yes i need all the help u have to offer cos like u say just walking dont do anygood
Pump your arms at a natural comfortable pace where you feel like you're taking it up a notch from what you're normally going. Sometimes I even walk and punch my arms outwards, as if I'm punching someone, this really gets the heart pumping. You can walk at a brisk pace pumping your arms and then do the slow extended walk up hill making sure that every stride counts. The key is to extend your back leg, tightening your glute, as if in a lunging motion.
well all i can say is im glad it was dark this morning for my first attempt at this style of walking, there i was muffled up against the cold and clad in my wellies as i set off up the hill, i pick up the pace and tiny breathe trails lead the way as i push out my arms pretending to be a boxer and at the same time lunging along, arriving at the top of the hill my thighs burning and screaming in agony, my arms about to drop off and my face scarlet but i do feel better for it even if the shop keeper thought i was mad, so how many times am i meant to do this? if i survive to do it again that is
as for the walking style, here a couple technique pointers (yeah, its not just moving the legs, lol) from top to bottom:
- head, upright, chin level to the ground
- shoulders down and back, chest out
- arms are bent depending on the speed, somewhere between 80° (fast) to 110° (slower)
- move arms always parallel to the body, not crossing over in front of the body
- hands relaxed, no fists as it causes tension in the neck/shoulders
- drive through the shoulder, always keeping elbows below shoulder height
- squeeze your abs tight, drawing them in towardy your spine
- domestic already said this: squeeze your glutes like hell when extending the leg backwards. tip: imagine having a $100-bill between your cheeks :-)
- lengthen your stride
- heel-toe-action: land on your heel while lifting your toes high before rolling over the whole foot! you'll know if you did this right by lovely soreness at the front of your shins (tibialis anterior) :-)
- most importantly!!! BREATH!!!
i do agree with raising the intensity of your walking by speeding up and rather reducing time to begin with. great way to achieve both though, speed AND distance/time: intervals!!
either use a stop watch (which can be annoying if your're alone) and walk in work : rest ratio. this could be something like 3min fast (work) and then 3min slower (rest which doesnt mean just strolling!!). to intensify over time: longer work, shorter rest periods or/and increasing speed for both.
if not using a watch: use focal points like trees, benches, lampposts etc. this is especially good if using the same walking rout regularly because to improve you can then use the second tree etc rather than the first.
another note here: to begin with it'll be trial and error to find your capabilities. so if you reach that tree with your work spees yet you feel you could go further, DO SO!!! it is your walk, so it is your control how hard you make it.
always ask yourself this: am i comfortable right now? yes? well then why not do more????? exercise is not there to be comfortable while you do it, you should at least feel slightly out of breath and your heart be pumping!!
That's so great Domestic! You are well on your way. You're doing everything right. Are you walking in tennis shoes now? If so, that's perfect. Hiking boots are good if they provide the right support and cushion for your soles.
was actualy thinking that too! wellies just dont give that much good hold around the foot. hiking boots are great as long as you dont get blisters :-) for the summer i would recommend some good trainers though!
in the winter great too: nordic walking sticks! adds nice upper body work!
but domestic, you're doing great already, one step at a time :-) literally!!