Spring has sprung! With the warmer weather comes the desire to stay outdoors and walk more. If you found yourself being a bit more sedentary this cold and snowy winter, this blog post is for you! A walking program is the perfect way to get back into exercising after a period of inactivity.
Walking program tips
Give yourself rest days. Try not to start walking every day all of a sudden. Your body will not be used to the activity and any significant spike in activity could put you at risk of developing pain related to muscles, tendons, or bones.
Focus on time. Work into increasing your time walking before you work on speed.
Start on level ground. Avoid hills or any elevation changes as you are getting started.
Stick to the same path. If you start with walking around your neighborhood, try to keep with the same environment. Familiarity helps with balance, especially if you are someone that has a hard time doing two things at once.
Stretch. Save static stretches for after the walk, not before. Static stretches when you are "cold" are not ideal.
Stay hydrated. You would be surprised with how any change in activity can impact our hydration!
Build slowly. Work on increasing the total time of walking each week, not every day. If you build slowly, your body will have an easier time adjusting to the activity.
Have a recovery day. Pick a walking day that is less than the others to help your muscles and joints actively recover. Recovery days are not rest days. Recovery days are meant for you to stay active but the intensity of the activity is much lower.
Write it down. Write down your walking program and put it somewhere you see every day to hold you accountable.
Add a circuit. If you have a hard time walking for longer than 10 minutes at a time, do a few rounds of walking at a time that is less than what you could do. See below for an example.
Walking program including a circuit example
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
Week 1 | 5 minutes | Rest | 5 minutes | Rest | 5 minutes | 3 minutes | Rest |
Week 2 | 2 rounds: 4 minutes walking, 2 minutes rest in between | Rest | 2 rounds: 4 minutes walking, 2 minutes rest in between | Rest | 2 rounds: 4 minutes walking, 2 minutes rest in between | 5 minutes | Rest |
Week 3 | 3 rounds: 4 minutes walking, 2 minutes rest in between | Rest | 3 rounds: 4 minutes walking, 2 minutes rest in between | Rest | 3 rounds: 4 minutes walking, 2 minutes rest in between | 5 minutes | Rest |
Week 4 | 3 rounds: 5 minutes walking, 2.5 minutes rest in between | Rest | 3 rounds: 5 minutes walking, 2.5 minutes rest in between | Rest | 3 rounds: 5 minutes walking, 2.5 minutes rest in between | 5 minutes | Rest |
The most important part of a walking program is being consistent! No matter how long you decide to walk, just be consistent.
As always, contact your doctor before starting an exercise program.
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