Three tips for elevating your walking workout

Would you like to get more from your walking workout? Walking is one of the most underrated aerobic exercises. It often gets a bad rap as not being intense enough to generate any real results.

But when performed in a specific way, it can be just as effective as jogging or running. In fact, for those with sore, stiff joints, this low-impact activity is one of the safest exercise options.

Here are the top three ways to boost the benefits of your next walking workout:

If you want to take your walking experience to new heights, be sure to include incline training. Whether you are on a treadmill or walking outdoors, adding height can help engage the entire body in ways a flat surface stroll won’t. Inclines hike up your heart rate to improve cardiovascular health, enhance lung endurance, and strengthen multiple major muscle groups, such as the core, glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves, which are responsible for burning more calories than smaller muscles.

By augmenting your heart and lung power, along with the mobility and strength of the lower body, activities of daily life and athletic endeavors become easier and safer to accomplish.

If you’re on a treadmill, always have the machine’s base incline set to 0.5 or 1, not 0. At the five-minute mark, you will increase the incline slightly. Hold here for two minutes, then lower back down to your baseline. This will be the pattern: Walk five at your baseline, increase the incline gradually, then hold for two minutes. See how high you can go without holding the rails for support, as this will cause faulty form. Maintain a heel-to-toe stride to ensure that you’re really working the posterior part of the legs.

When outdoors, be sure to include steep hills in your neighborhood, or explore a new environment by finding a nearby walking trail with hills and ever-changing terrain.

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When you aren’t walking at an incline, you’ll want to keep your pace brisk. When you increase your speed, the muscles must push harder to keep up with the workload. This results in a greater caloric expenditure, stronger muscles, and better balance and coordination. Walking at a steady pace also aids in preventing bone loss, which naturally occurs with age — for both men and women.

When it comes to picking your pace, find a speed that feels comfortable enough that it doesn’t negatively affect your gait or posture. Pump your arms to generate momentum, as your arms will dictate the speed at which your legs move. For a moderate-intensity walking speed, the goal is for your breath to quicken, but you should not be winded. At about the 10-minute mark, you should start to break a light sweat but still be able to speak without running out of breath.

While it’s important to exert yourself to see results, it’s equally valuable to be aware of signs and symptoms of pushing yourself too hard, such as shortness of breath or burning out faster than expected. If this happens, tone down the pace until you find what feels good for you.

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While any exercise is better than none, walking for longer periods of time will provide greater health benefits than a shorter session of physical activity. In just 30 minutes a day, you can lower the risk of developing multiple dangerous medical conditions such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. You can also improve your mental health, your mental clarity, and even the quality of your sleep.

There are several benefits to longer bouts of exercise that raise your heart rate: As blood flows through the body at a faster speed, the heart and lungs grow stronger and, over time, function more efficiently. Increased circulation floods the muscles and major organs, such as the brain, with oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood. This helps the brain combat such things as mental fog, which can strike during a sedentary workday at your desk.

Feel-good hormones, known as endorphins, are released to relieve stress and promote a better sense of well-being.

For those with the goal of weight loss or weight management, longer stretches of walking will burn more calories and generate greater muscle mass. For this, aim to walk at least 30 minutes a day, five times a week.

Ashley Blake Greenblatt is a certified personal trainer and wellness coach in South Jersey. Learn more about her virtual training program at ashleyblakefitness.com.