Walking Challenge 2.0

What’s not to like about walking?

It’s free.

It’s easy to do, and it’s easy on the joints.

And there’s no question that walking is good for you.

The simple activity of walking has so many powerful health benefits.

Benefits of walking regularly

• Maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat.
• Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and type 2 diabetes.
• Improve cardiovascular fitness.
• Strengthen your bones and muscles.
• Improve muscle endurance.
• Increase energy levels.

While tracking steps is one option, it can be unmotivating to some so this walking challenge will share time and approximate steps.  I highly recommend sticking with the time spent before getting bummed if steps don't add up.  I'll admit my steps do not match up ;)

Week 1: Three 15-minute walks, achieving roughly 7,500 steps per day

Week 2: Three 16-minute walks, achieving roughly 8,000 steps per day

Week 3: Three 17-minute walks, achieving roughly 8,500 steps per day

Week 4: Three 18-minute walks, achieving roughly 9,000 steps per day

Week 5: Three 20-minute walks, achieving roughly 10,000 steps per day

If you miss one day or one of the segments, no worries, pick up on the next one.  Your body will thank you with better overall health by getting these breaks in.

TIP:  If you want to track steps and own an iphone, their free app Apple Health will do that for you.  Perhaps you set up that app when you first got your phone, it could already be tracking your steps :) 

                                            

Ways to Increase the Burn

While these plans increase walking duration each week, walking 60 minutes per day at a brisk pace only burns 250 to 350 calories—not quite the 500-calorie-a-day deficit needed to lose 1 pound per week. 

Here are five ways to increase calorie burn without walking longer.

1. Pick up the pace

"Walking speed directly affects your calorie burn. Picking up your pace from a stroll (2 mph) to a moderate walk (3 mph) burns 33% more calories," says Davis.

2. Find hills

"Hill walks are great for your muscles. They activate your calf, glute and hamstring muscles even more than a flat walk, without any added risk of injury. In addition to increasing your heart rate and workload, hills also increase your calorie burn. On a treadmill, setting an intense incline of 18% can increase calorie burn even more," says Davis.

3. Listen to upbeat music

"One of my favorite ways to track and increase walking speed is by walking to music. On popular music apps like Spotify, you can even search for playlists that are 100 bpm (beats per minute) to upward of 180 bpm. Each week, try increasing your walking speed by listening to progressively faster songs," says Davis.

4. Take a hike

Hiking often involves walking on uneven terrain, which engages more muscle groups. The more muscle you build, the more calories you will burn both during the workout and afterward. Hiking uphill will boost calorie burn even more.

5. Try the Run-Walk Method

"The secret to keep burning calories is to not stop moving while you're doing the exercise. The run-walk method is a hack to increase the calories that you burn in the simplest way. It involves running for a short period of time, without extremely tiring yourself, and taking a 'break' by walking, and repeating this for the rest of the route. This helps you lessen your stress and exhaustion while doing the exercise, so you can do the routine for a longer time, burning more of your calories. What's good about this is it can be done even by beginners, since it takes no complex routine to reach your goal faster," says personal trainer and marathon runner Andrea Chapman.

If you can't get outside check out this past Walking Challenge for indoor ways to get the steps in.  Or did you get Taylor Swift's latest album?  Maybe you'd like to incorporate it into this trend, click to read the past blog post.

If you'd like a little more motivation or accountability...

Current walking challenges happening or coming up (I'm not affiliated with them, just passing along)

Today Show: https://link.today.com/join/5ci/start-today-signup

St Jude's: Click & scroll down

After you slip on the shoes, share a photo of your scenery on your walk on social media using #CocktailDiet or tag me!

Or pass this blog post along to a friend or share to Facebook or Pinterest! Just look for this icon at the top or bottom of this post. 

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