05 Jun Six tips to make most of walking for exercise

Walking is one of the best and easiest ways to stay fit. Even briskly walking as little as three times a week for 30 minutes can help you lose weight and improve your overall health.
Here are six tips to make the most of walking as part of an exercise program:
1.Be prepared – If you’re not wearing a good pair of walking shoes, keep them in the your car. You never know when the opportunity will arise to take a nice walk. Keeping a sweatshirt or light jacket in your car is a good idea too just in case it gets a little cold out when u want to walk.
2. Keep shoes in good condition – Check your soles and plan to get new shoes about every 500 miles for best results.
3. Do interval training – If you’re going on a 20-minute walk, for example, for several durations of that walk faster and then slow down to a normal pace. On a treadmill, use the interval training program. This is a good way to burn more calories and get an even better cardio workout.
4. Do hill training – Setting your treadmill for inclines and-or declines is a good way to switch up how your leg muscles are worked and also burn more calories. If you’re walking outside, plan to walk in some areas where the are hills to make the workout more challenging and fun.
5. Don’t forget Fido – Take your family dog on the walk. It will be good exercise for both of you.
6. Hit the trail – Walking on a trail that’s rough requires considerably more effort than say a sidewalk or treadmill. Go for some tougher trails walks every now and then.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. Consult a doctor before making any significant changes in your exercise routine or diet. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com