Walking is en excellent way to keep fit and feel good, whether it's for dieting or other health issues. An acquaintance of mine told me that her pounds "melted away" just by walking regurally for 25 minutes. Setting up a walking program is not hard to accomplish. But it will be easier if you look at a couple of things before starting a fitness walking; set up a goal for your walking, and be pragmatic about that goal. If you do that it, will keep you more motivated to reach your goals. Try to be realistic about it when starting will also make it easier to keep your new habits. Change things one at a time. Don't promise yourself that "I will speed walk for one hour seven days a week" if you have never done any physical activities before. You will probably stop after a few days. Be honest about what you can do for for exercise and fit something in your daily schedule that you can hold fast to. Don't get any expensive clothing or sneakers in the beginning. Just start with what you're having. Later on in your programme, when you have reached your first goals, you can reward yourself with a pair comfortable sneakers or some new training gear.
Take a few minutes and develop on a fitness walking programme for yourself. It could be: walk 15 minutes four times a week for two weeks. Then 20 minutes for three weeks. Increase your walking to 30 minutes five times a week. If you're in shape and used to training, set your goals higher from the start.
Some pointers for your walking: Walk straight up and relax your shoulders. Hold your head straight up, don't lean your head forward. If you are used to working out, keep your arms in 90 degree angle when walking. This puts less force on your back and neck, and it also burns more energy while fitness walking. When you want to get more advanced in your walking, get a pair of MBT sneakers (more about it at the end of this article) or Nordic walking sticks. Remember to breathe right, breath out all the way.
How to stay motivated in your new training endeavors? Well, there are many ways ways of doing that. Or you can keep a journal of your improvements. After a doing it for a while, it will bug you if you haven't done any walking that day. Get a mp3 player, listen to an audio book or the radio.
If you are aiming to loose some weight, remember that you are now building muscles, and that muscles weigh more than fat. So don't get too low if the scale is'nt showing what you want it to show. The right way of finding out how much you have lost, is to use a measure tape and measure yourself around the stomach, hips and thighs. Then you will see your real results.
