Lichfield personal trainer Raúl Romero shares his top tips to turn walking into an enjoyable workout.
- Don’t underestimate the importance of warming up. To help avoid injury it is always best to start walking at a slower than normal pace for five minutes or so before picking up the tempo of the walk.
- Enjoy the outdoors. Although it is easy to stay indoors and exercise, be it on a treadmill or exercise bike, nothing beats getting out in the grass, sand, dirt and roads. These are never completely level so definitely work the muscles a lot more effectively than a treadmill would. As an added bonus, luckily for us in this country with the weather, we are also more likely to burn more calories walking against the wind.
- Use a fitness tracker. Psychologically we are more likely to increase our physical activity by about 27% if we track it according to a study by Stanford University, which in real terms is about an extra mile of walking per day.
- Make it social. Even under the lockdown rules we are allowed to exercise outdoors with one other person from another household, so make the most of it and make it social. It is a great way to kill two birds with one stone and get the daily exercise in, as well as having a catch up with a friend which in turn is also great for our mental health.
- Hit the hills! Walking on a hiking trail with hills is one way to include intervals in our walking routine without making it feel like torture. Walking uphill also burns more calories and helps us build muscle in the lower body, which in turn can help speed up the metabolism. For those who don’t have any handy hills nearby, staircase workouts are great and totally free to do from the comfort of your own home.
- Stretch, stretch and stretch! Remember to take those all important few minutes at the end of a walk to loosen warm, limber muscles which will help ease some of the strain and fatigue our muscles build up during exercise.
For more information about walking or any fitness related queries please feel free to get in touch with Raúl at raul@ambitionpt.co.uk or through Facebook or Instagram @ambitionpersonaltraininguk
