Get Fit By Walking

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Walking can help you reach any fitness goal: a healthier life, better muscle tone, easier weight control, improved aerobic fitness, and even preparation for competition. Fitness increases as the result of working the major muscles groups, increasing circulation, increasing oxygen intake, lung capacity, and burning excess calories. To begin a walking program, start slowly. There's no overnight magic to fitness. You have a lifetime to work on good health and fitness.

Start your program by walking SLIGHTLY ABOVE a comfortable pace - forget about times, distance, and technique. Walk at a purposeful but comfortable pace. You should be able to carry on a conversation, but if you're able to sing you're walking at too slow a pace. If possible, walk for 15 to 30 minutes, but don't overdo it.

After several weeks of participating in a walking program, you may feel you are ready to meet the requirements of the overload principle of exercise training (FIT--frequency, intensity, time). If so, use the following steps:

1. Set your frequency. The goal is to walk seven days a week within your Target Heart Range (THR), but walking three to five will improve overall fitness.

2. Measure your intensity. Aim for the lower end (60 percent) of your THR and gradually increase to the higher end (90 percent) of THR.

3. Plan your amount of time. To develop long-term health, walk 30 minutes per day. For weight loss or longevity, walk 45 to 60 minutes per day; do one or two longer walks at a slower pace for greater calorie burning, and take an occasional easy day. Performance-level fitness requires a walk of 20 to 60 minutes at a fast pace, three to five days per week, with easier walks interspersed. Occasionally, try alternating fast and slow intervals.

Stretching is a good idea at whatever level you're walking. Walk for five to ten minutes to warm the muscles before you begin stretching exercises. Here are some suggestions:

• Achilles tendon and calf:
  With both hands against a wall or tree, place one foot well behind you. Keeping the back leg straight and its heel on the ground, lean in toward the wall or tree.

• Quadriceps:
  Place one hand on a wall or tree for balance and with the other hand reach behind your back and grasp the ankle of the opposite leg. Pull it up toward your buttocks until you feel tension along the front of your thigh.

• Hamstring:
  Stand on one leg; prop the other leg parallel to the ground on a fence or table. Slide both hands toward the propped-up ankle as far as they'll go.

Do not bounce when stretching. Stretch five times, 20 seconds each, for each leg. Repeat after you've finished walking.

You do not have to walk any particular way; however, the correct posture, arm swing, and stride help to increase the intensity and lower risk of injury. For correct posture, lean slightly forward from the ankles, not the waist. Walk tall and don't slouch or hunch your shoulders. Keep your head level and your chin up. Hold your elbows firmly at a 90-degree angle and swing your arms from the shoulder. Your hand should end its forward swing at breastbone height. On the back swing, if you are moving fast, the upper arm is almost parallel to the ground. Gently contract your stomach muscles to flatten your lower back. Make your leg stride long and smooth. Land on your heel and roll from heel to toe, pushing off forcefully with your toes.

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