Power Walking

POWER WALKING IS THE BEST WAY TO POWER AWAY THOSE EXTRA POUNDS

Walking is a beneficial low-impact workout because your feet are always in contact with the ground. This natural technique lessens your chances of injury and is safer than jogging or running. Power walking—walking between 3 and 5 mph—offers the same fitness benefits as jogging, without the risk of injury. For many people, running for exercise is less than ideal because it requires more physical exertion than walking. But with good regular walking habits, you can use power walking techniques to get all the benefits of running or jogging. Increasing your walking pace is really all you need to do to increase your calorie burn rate to those comparable to jogging. For example, a 150-pound person burns about 300 calories by walking at 4.5 mph for 1 hour, the same calorie burn rate as jogging at 4 mph for 1 hour.

COMMON SENSE POWER WALKING TECHNIQUES

Unlike race walking, which is governed by specific rules, power walking simply means increasing your walking pace to cover a mile in less than 15 minutes. This pace means you are walking faster than 4 mph, the average jogging pace for most people. You should increase your walking pace over time without straining yourself. Do your normal warming up and cooling down routine.

Walk with good posture, looking straight ahead, not at the ground. Don’t over stride or use too many vigorous aerobic arm movements. For best power walking results, let your body do the work: leave the hand and ankle weights at home.

Bend your elbows at about a 90-degree angle and swing your arms faster but not too high. Your arms should never cross your body and your hands never swing higher than your chest. Let your feet naturally follow the pace of your arms.

Concentrate on each stride to push off with your toes. Some power walkers like to count steps, aiming for at least 135 steps per minute.

Many power walkers like to tighten their abs and glutes while also tilting the pelvis slightly forward. You don’t want to take longer strides, but shorter, quicker ones.

Above all, breathe naturally as you walk. If you find yourself losing breath, slow down.

After a few sessions of power walking, you’ll be burning more calories and feeling fitter than ever before.