The great thing about walking is it’s easy to do and it can be done anywhere. It requires no special equipment. Just put on your sneakers and head outside.
You can walk in the park or you can walk around your neighborhood. It doesn’t matter just as long as you are walking.
Benefits of Walking
Walking helps with physical strength. It will make you stronger overall. It can also help ward of diseases and improve your overall health and well-being.
According to the American Heart Association walking can help reduce the risk of both breast and colon cancer. It can also help reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.
If you have high blood pressure it can help alleviate it. It can also improve your blood sugar levels. That’s a lot of wonderful benefits for such a simple exercise.
Walking is an excellent exercise for fat burning. While any exercise can burn calories, brisk walking for 45 minutes mobilizes the body to dip into fat reserves and burn stored fat. Walkers can achieve this exercise intensity that uses more fat as fuel.
The Fat Burning Zone
The fat-burning zone is at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. In this zone of exercise intensity, 85% of your calories burned are fats, 5% are proteins and 10% are carbohydrates.
- Calculate Your Fat Burning Heart Rate Zone
How Long to Walk for Fat Burning?
You need at least 45 minutes of walking in the fat-burning zone to get the body to burn stored fat. Walking additional minutes will burn more stored fat.
Fat Burning Walking Workout
- Start with a 10 minute warm-up walk at an easier pace. This burns off the stored blood sugar and glycogen energy in the muscles.
- Pick up the pace to the fat-burning zone of a heart rate of 60-70% of your maximum.
- Continue to walk in the fat burning zone for 30-50 minutes or more.
- End with five to 10 minutes at an easier pace for a cool-down.
When to Do the Fat Burning Walk
The fat-burning walk is at the intensity recommended for exercise five or more days per week to reduce health risks.
It can be done daily, or alternated with more intense workout days. Those who want to lose body fat should do a fat-burning workout most days of the week.
- Weight Loss Series
- Monday: 30 min High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – Alternate 1 minute running (10 mph or as fast as you can) with 2 minutes of walking (4.5 mph) for 30 min, calories 320. Basic Total Body, 30 min, 100 calories
- Tuesday: 60 min kickboxing class, 550 calories
- Wednesday: 30-45 min Lower Body Strength, 300 calories, 15-minute stretching, 42 calories
- Thursday: 60 min yoga class, 170 calories
- Friday: 45 min HIIT – Alternate 1 minute 10 mph with 2 minutes at 4.5 mph for 45 minutes, calories 480
- Saturday: 30 min Upper Body Workout 150 calories
Total Time: 315 Minutes
Estimated Calories Burned: 2112
- Weight Gain Prevention Series
- Monday: Elliptical Trainer, 40 min at a moderate pace, 327 calories, 10-minute stretching, 40 calories
- Tuesday: Basic Total Body, 30 min, 100 calories
- Wednesday: Walking, 45 min at 4.5 mph, 322 calories, 10-minute stretching, 40 calories
- Thursday: Basic Total Body, 30 min, 100 calories
- Friday: Swimming laps, 20 min, 137 calories
- Saturday: Yoga class, 60 min, 170 calories
Total Time: 245 Minutes
Estimated Calories Burned: 1236
Walkers who are training for a distance event should walk at a pace that is within the fat-burning zone for their long day of distance training each week.
Is Walking Better for Fat Burning than High-Intensity Exercise?
High-intensity exercise does not burn as much fat for energy as moderate-intensity exercise, but the total calories burned in any workout can help those seeking to lose weight. Walking is a great cardiovascular aerobic exercise that most healthy adults can do without equipment or special training. The best exercise for fat-burning is the one that you enjoy and do daily.
Other moderate-intensity exercise activities include bicycle riding on level terrain, water aerobics, easy jogging, elliptical trainer, ballroom dancing, gardening, and doubles tennis.
Tools for Fat Burning
- Before You Buy a Heart Rate Monitor: To be sure you are exercising a moderate intensity, it is wise to take your pulse as a check. You can take your pulse by hand and use any watch that displays seconds to count your pulse, but a heart rate monitor can give accurate readings continuously.
- Walking Shoes: To walk comfortably at a brisk pace and reduce risk of injury, get fitted for the right walking shoes at a serious running shoe store in your area.
Originally posted at: www.verywell.com | ww.healthstatus.com