Fall into taking more steps

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/08/2022 (1219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Walking is one of the best things for your health and fitness. As summer winds down and the weather begins to cool, now would be a great time to ask yourself if you should add more movement to your day.

I’ve written about the benefits of walking and sleeping here before. Today, we’re going to dive into how you might begin a new fall walking program.

Walking is free, it’s low impact, and you can do it with little to no fitness apparel. Even on days when you’re busy with work or family, you can usually squeeze in a 10- or 15-minute trek. Walking not only helps with physical fitness but also mental and emotional health. It’s a great way to manage stress.

The first step is simply to start where you are. If you haven’t been doing any movement, don’t set an aggressive goal of walking for an hour on Day 1. Your body needs to adapt to new exercise, just as it does with anything else. You will need your joints and muscles to adjust to your new activity level, so take it slow. You can begin with a timed effort of five, 10 or 15 minutes. Or you can set a distance such as 1,000 metres – or anything else that’s reasonable.

Over the course of the first week, do three to four walks. Moving into Week 2, incrementally increase your time or distance. A good rule of thumb is to increase overall training time by just 10 percent each week. This allows your body to experience positive changes without excessive soreness or risk of injury.

As your fitness improves and you accumulate more distance or time, you will feel ready to increase the intensity slightly. You can do this a number of different ways. One way is increasing the cadence of your steps. In the early stages, you should still be able to engage in conversation but your pace will be quicker than it was when you started. Even with a small change, your output will be higher and you’ll keep improving your fitness.

Eventually, you’ll reach a stage where you can walk for a very long time. When you’re there, you might consider “loaded walks.” By adding a load to your walk, you can improve strength, too. This can be done with a weight vest, a backpack containing books, small weights or an odd object from your house. I’ve known some very fit clients to walk with spare tires!

You can walk with a lighter load for longer periods of time or a heavier load for shorter, more intense periods. With loaded walking, you can also vary how you carry the weight. You can carry it on your back, farmer style with an object in each hand, suitcase style on one side or even overhead if your shoulders permit it. At this point, you’re combining conditioning with strength work, and you’ll get increased benefits.

The key to success: just take the first step. Reach out to a qualified trainer if you’re ready to begin but unsure what progression is right for you.