Walking Towards Greater Fitness

Many people view walking as a leg workout, but the truth is that it exercises the entire body. Below are some suggestions on how to turn your daily walk into a full body workout.

You have probably heard in the past that it is important to stand up straight and maybe you have even heard that it is important that your knees go over your toes when you walk. What you might not know is that making those two small corrections will engage three different muscle groups. As you "stand up straight," you will engage your lower back muscles and your abdominal muscles. While walking, try to consciously think about engaging your abs. You will forget sometimes, but engage them as much as possible. Not only will this help you toward a flatter stomach, but it will protect your spine against the normal wear and tare that comes with continuous impact and being out of alignment.

Putting your knees over your toes will most likely engage parts of your glutes. Most people will find that they need to think about rotating their thighs slightly outwards while keeping their toes pointing forward in order to get their knees over their toes. For people who have toes that point out, it is inward rotation from the inner thighs that will solve the problem.

So far we have the legs, butt, back and abs engaged. That only leaves your arms. Try to get a good swing in your arms. Especially if you are walking at a brisk pace, the effort that you put into moving your arms back and forth will work your arm muscles even without weights. If building your arms up is a particular goal of yours, you might consider wrist weights or holding very light dumbbells as you walk.

For those of you looking increase your stamina and strength even more, pick up your pace to a speed walk. Once that has become easy, try mixing a little bit of jogging into your walk. A walk-run combination is a great way to increase your stamina. Start by adding in a minute of running every five minutes of walking and slowly increase the amount of time you are running. Only add in running if you are comfortable increasing the impact on your joints. Walking is good for the joints and is very low impact. Running is much harder on the knees hips and ankles.

If you are less concerned about stamina and more concerned about strength, consider marching and lifting your knees high to increase the strength in your quads. For an even greater challenge, twist your upper body toward the leg being lifted to work out your oblique abdominals.

Walking is an excellent form of exercise. It is low impact, low cost, and works your entire body. Going for a daily walk will help you feel better and increase your health. Not only will you get in your daily exercise, but you will get out in the sun and fresh air. Make sure to follow the advice above to get the most out of your daily walk!