Walking - No Advance Degree Required
The Guide to Walking which came with the cool pedometer I purchased to help me train for my first 10K walking race, makes the claim that walking, unlike many other fitness activities today, requires no special pre-requisites for walkers to be successful. Instead walking is one of the few physical fitness activities that we all do naturally. Okay, I'll buy that, but now that I've read the Guide fully and been following a training plan for the past 3 weeks, there are some helpful walking pointers that I think are worth sharing.
We've covered Posture in a previous blog post, however, here are three other factors to keep in mind for your walking training to be both beneficial and successful.
First, take deep, regular breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. And never hold your breath, which is true for any fitness activity. We all have a tendency to do this; hold our breath as we concentrate or exert ourselves. But, try to catch yourself as it obviously deprives your body of needed oxygen and also causes us to stiffen up, which can lead to muscle strain. I speak from personal experience when I say I know what it's like to hold your breath while exercising, and even though it's hard to stop, we all need to focus on this. Good breathing really does improve our exercise routine.
Second, try to keep an even natural pace and walk, don't run. If you are walking for fitness or in training for an event like a 5K or 10K, you should be walking briskly but not fast. If you're becoming out of breath, you're going to quickly. Slow down. I've been practising with the pace function on the pedometer and really recommend it for helping to make pacing yourself a regular habit.
Third, focus on your stride. It should be long and smooth. You are aiming for something effortless. To keep you balanced don't forget to swing your arms at your side as you move and if you're interested in measuring your stride there is some helpful information information about stride measurement here.
Finally, pay attention to your body as you walk. If it feels good, keep going. If you start to experience pain or discomfort stop for the day and consider making an appointment with your doctor. It could be something as simple as the shoes you are wearing, perhaps they don't fit properly. Or maybe there's something going on that you need to check into, like an injury that's developing. As with any fitness activity, particularly when it's new, don't ignore discomfort.