Four Ways to Wake Up Your Walk

Is walking your favored workout? If you easily log 30 to 40 minutes at a time, try raising the bar:

1. Step It Up. Use a pedometer to measure how many steps you usually take in a day, including your regular walk. Add 200 to 300 steps a day each week until you meet a daily goal of 10,000. Walking for longer is best for those who want to lose weight. But once you’re fit, you need to also add intensity to your workout. Try the tips below.
2. Change Gears. Incorporate intervals by walking for a block quickly, then two blocks slowly, and repeat several times. Or walk quickly for two minutes, then more slowly for two. Gradually add more fast intervals interspersed with shorter, slower ones. Important: Base intervals on how you feel to avoid overdoing it. If you’re winded and really have to push yourself or you feel heavy and tired, you may need to slow down.
3. Add Your Arms. Try Nordic walking poles to work more muscles and burn extra calories. The poles are similar to ski poles with rubber tips. They use your arms to keep your body moving forward. Although walking with the poles revs up heart rate and uses more oxygen, Nordic walkers report they feel as if they’re doing less work.
4. Head for the Hills. Walking up hills is a great way to tone legs and do more work in less time. You also can vary how hard you work by walking up them more slowly or quickly. Not a hill in sight? Try stairs. One study showed that 11 minutes of stair-climbing is equal to more than 30 minutes of walking.