Adding moderate amounts of plyometrics, hills, or intervals to your daily walk can greatly increase the benefits of exercise without adding any more time to your workout. Bounding, jumping, and skipping moves known as plyometrics can double the amount of calories burned compared to walking. Burning these additional calories can help you lose abdominal (belly) fat much more quickly. Losing belly fat reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes. For example: walk 15 minutes at a moderate pace, do 30 high knee steps forward then skip for 30 seconds, continue walking for 1 minute, do 15 moving lateral squats followed by 5 squat jumps, walk for 10 minutes, repeat the 30 high knee steps and 30 seconds of skipping, walk 5 minutes at a moderate pace then 5 minutes more slowly to cool down. This variation to walking can double the calories burned and tone muscles faster than walking alone. To add plyometrics to a treadmill routine, simply pause the treadmill to do the plyometric portions.

Another way to intensify your walk is to add hills. Uphill walks help strengthen and shape your lower body. Start changing your walk routing gradually, twice a week replace 25% of your walk with short or gradual hills. After two weeks, seek out longer or steeper hills and add 10% more on hills each week until one-half to two-thirds of your walk is on hills. If you live in a flat area, try a treadmill work out in which you gradually increase the incline from 0 to 2 percent for 5 to 10 minutes then gradually decrease the incline in the same amount of time, ending with 5 to 10 minutes of flat walking. Each week or two, increase the incline by 1%.

Intervals can also bump up calories burned. Interval walking involves alternating moderate paced walking with short, faster paced intervals. You can double the calories burned by adding 10 one minute intervals to 30 minute walk. Walk at a moderate pace for 10 minutes, increase your speed for one minute, walk at a moderate pace for 3 minutes, repeat intervals one or two times, then end with 10 minutes of moderate walking. As you get stronger, add more intervals aiming for one minute bursts with one minute of moderate pace.

These simple additions to your walk routine can speed up weight loss and body tone. Getting fit can help you reduce your risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Recent reports state that staying healthy is equally important to your retirement as wise investing. Avoiding chronic illness could save you up to $700,000 in medical expenses from diabetes, heart disease or cancer. Eat healthy, get fit, and manage your stress and you may just get to enjoy your retirement years.

References: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/08/29/healthmag.walk.fat/index.html, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1840579,00.html.

[Return to Archive Index]

[PageTop]