| 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. |
