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How To Lose The Most Fat With Walking

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  • How To Lose The Most Fat With Walking

    Three universal goals nearly all of us share are: (1) to live longer,
    (2) to live free of illness and (3) to control our weight. Amazingly,
    walking lets us achieve all three. In fact, walking may be your best
    medicine for slowing the aging process, reducing your chances of illness
    and slashing your body fat. For anyone out of shape or not athletically-
    inclined, walking is the no-stress, no-sweat answer to lifelong
    conditioning. All you need is a good pair of shoes, a little time, a few
    guidelines from a fitness professional and you're ready to go.

    Unfortunately, there's more misinformation floating around today about
    fitness walking and weight loss than ever before. Some experts even say
    walking is not effective for weight loss at all and they insist that
    only higher intensity forms of cardio will do anything to improve your
    body composition. Others fitness experts believe that you should not do
    cardiovascular exercise every day - even walking.

    There may be a little truth in each of those statements, however,
    walking always was and still is one of the best exercises for
    strengthening your bones, controlling your weight, toning the muscles in
    your lower body, maintaining good posture and improving your self image.

    Walking uses almost every muscle in the body, it improves circulation of
    blood to the joints and massages the blood vessels, keeping them more
    elastic. Walking also helps you maintain muscle and an efficient
    metabolism as you get older (not to mention keeping you young "in
    spirit.")

    Walking is incredibly convenient too. Since you don’t need a gym or any
    special equipment, you can walk any place, at any time and that allows
    you to lose weight and get fit with little or no interruption to your
    busy schedule.

    People who diet without exercising often get fatter with time. Although
    your weight may initially drop while dieting, weight loss from low
    calorie and especially low carb diets consists mostly of water and
    muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid
    getting fatter over time, you must increase your metabolism by
    exercising daily.

    To get the maximum benefits of a walking program, you need make it more
    challenging than a leisurely "walk in the park." Walking at a steady and
    brisk pace burns more fat simply because it burns more calories. Just
    remember to begin slowly to avoid muscle soreness, and increase your
    pace over time as you become more fit.

    To lose weight, it's ideal to alternate your walking sessions between
    high intensity and lower intensity days. For example, on one day walk
    for 30- 45 minutes as a steady and moderate pace. On the next day, walk
    at a faster pace. You could even do "road work" like the boxers do,
    where you break up your walk along the route with some sets of squats,
    lunges, bench push ups or other body weight or calisthenic exercises to
    make it a real cardiovascular and muscle blaster of a workout! It
    doesn’t have to be boring or the same thing every day. Make it fun and
    keep it up consistently, leading an active life-style 365 days a year.

    Slow and casual walking has benefits, but you will not get as much out
    of walking at a very slow pace because we all have a built-in mechanical
    advantage for walking long distances at normal speeds.

    Our bodies, via the spinal column, muscle attachments and bony
    structures, reserve energy in the musculoskeletal system and release it
    back to us without asking for additional energy output. In other words,
    as you walk, your spinal column keeps energy in reserve because of the
    way you straighten and extend your spine during normal walking.

    As you step, your spine is stretched, and as you take another step, the
    energy reserved in the spine is used in propulsion. The spine acts very
    much like rubber band as your walk, harnessing this reserve energy.

    To get substantial cardiovascular, muscular and weight loss benefits,
    this is why you must walk briskly or create extra movement patterns
    beyond casual, slow walking in order to optimize your walking program
    for weight loss and cardiovascular fitness.

    Walking the right way will also improve your posture and tends to help
    keep you upright (because you must see where you are going). Just hold
    your chin up and shoulder slightly back.. Walk with your heels hitting
    the ground first and your feet pointed forward. Swing your arms fully
    and make lengthy strides.

    To lose weight and achieve optimum health, exercise and diet are both
    necessary and interrelated. Exercising without maintaining a balanced
    diet is no more beneficial than dieting while remaining a couch potato.

    Carbohydrates are high-octane fuel. They provide energy for movement
    and help raise internal body metabolism. They're also satisfying. The
    key is to avoid adding high-fat and high calorie toppings to your
    carbohydrates. Also be sure to focus on fruits and vegetables and do not
    eat the majority of your carbohydrates from the starch category such as
    bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. These type of carbs can create an
    insulin spike, which in turn feeds your fat storing system.

    Fruits and vegetables are the ideal health, diet and fat loss foods for
    many reasons. They're relatively low in fat and calories, high in fiber
    and rich in essential vitamins and minerals. The National Research
    Council recommends eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables
    a day.

    Your everyday habits will determine your long term body weight and body
    composition. Make sure you get enough sleep, drink enough water to
    expel toxins, avoid processed food as much as you can, eat your fruits
    and veggies, eat organic when ever possible and work hard.

    Just one last thought: taking a three-minute walk after each meal is
    worth a four pound reduction in body fat in a year’s time. Climbing two
    flights of stairs a day burns off half a pound of body fat in a year.
    On the other hand, one candy bar eaten daily will cost you 20 pounds
    annually.

    How To Lose The Most Fat With Walking

    By David Grisaffi, CHEK
    Corrective Exercise Kinesiologist
    Golf Biomechanic Certified
    Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach
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