Simple Fitness Facts

A walk a day...keeps the weight away!

Simple walking can actually be the best exercise for everyone. A well planned walking program is simple to start, has low risk, requires no monetary output and can be incorporated into your daily schedule, anywhere at any time.

Studies have shown that a brisk, 30 minute walk each day can help:

• Burn Calories and reduce your weight or depending on your caloric intake, at least keep weight stable
• Increase cardiovascular endurance
• Lower blood pressure
• Reduce Cholesterol levels
• Boost your bone strength & agility

Get Ready To Walk

• Invest in a good pair of walking shoes. New Balance and Nike are some of the best brands on the market.
• Comfortable, loose fitting clothing is always important. Keep in mind that your body temperature will rise. Pay attention to the temperature if walking outdoors. Make sure to stay hydrated and wear a hat to avoid burning in the sun.
• Briefly warm-up before walking, stretch out your muscles to avoid injury - this gets your blood flowing and warms up the leg muscles. Don't forget to stretch out your back, shoulders and arms, this eliminates tension and will make your walk more enjoyable and effective.

Three Rules For walking

1. Start your walking program at your own pace. Forget about speed in the beginning. Focus on good posture, relax your shoulders and keep your head high.
2. Swing your arms naturally and breathe deeply, straight through your diaphragm. Your heart rate should accelerate naturally, but not so you can't catch your breath.
3. Make sure you can talk when walking. If you can't converse, then you are walking too fast. Avoid hills and slow your pace should this occur.

Once you have progressed to where you can easily walk a few miles per day, this would be a great time to vary the intensity - perhaps add hills and stair climbing to increase your cardio workout. Taking long strides and increasing your speed is a great way to tone your leg muscles.

If you choose to walk indoors on a treadmill, try using headphones, reading or watching the television. This will pass the time away and increase your burn in calories which leads to fat loss.

There are no hard rules to walking, that's the beauty to it! Fit walking into your daily schedule and begin to reap the rewards.

Dori Schwaiger is an expert author on diet and fitness, she is also the owner of Tophealthspot.com, which has become a destination on the web for all health minded people. Please visit the Sports & Fitness section of her website, TopHealthSpot.com for all your sports health & fitness needs.