Lose Body Fat with Walking
By David Grisaffi,
Author, Firm And Flatten Your
Abs
Three
universal goals nearly all of us share are: (1) to live
longer, (2) to live free of illness and (3) to control our
weight. Amazingly, walking lets us achieve all three. In fact,
walking may be your best medicine for slowing the aging
process, reducing your chances of illness and slashing your
body fat. For anyone out of shape or not
athletically-inclined, walking is the no-stress, no-sweat
answer to lifelong conditioning. All you need is a good pair
of shoes, a little time, a few guidelines from a fitness
professional and you're ready to go.
Unfortunately, there's
more misinformation floating around today about fitness
walking and weight loss than ever before. Some experts even
say walking is not effective for weight loss at all and they
insist that only higher intensity forms of cardio will do
anything to improve your body composition. Others fitness
experts believe that you should not do
cardiovascular
exercise every day - even walking.
There
may be a little truth in each of those statements, however,
walking always was and still is one of the best exercises for
strengthening your bones, controlling your weight, toning the
muscles in your lower body, maintaining good posture and
improving your self image.
Walking uses almost every
muscle in the body, it improves circulation of blood to the
joints and massages the blood vessels, keeping them more
elastic. Walking also helps you maintain muscle and an
efficient metabolism as you get older (not to mention keeping
you young "in spirit.")
Walking is incredibly
convenient too. Since you don?t need a gym or any special
equipment, you can walk any place, at any time and that allows
you to lose weight and get fit with little or no interruption
to your busy schedule.
People
who diet without exercising often get fatter with time.
Although your weight may initially drop while dieting, weight
loss from low calorie and especially low carb diets consists
mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes
back as fat. To avoid getting fatter over time, you must
increase your metabolism by exercising daily.
To get
the maximum benefits of a walking program, you need make it
more challenging than a leisurely "walk in the park." Walking
at a steady and brisk pace burns more fat simply because it
burns more calories. Just remember to begin slowly to avoid
muscle soreness, and increase your pace over time as you
become more fit.
To
lose weight, it's ideal to alternate your walking sessions
between high intensity and lower intensity days. For example,
on one day walk for 30- 45 minutes as a steady and moderate
pace. On the next day, walk at a faster pace. You could even
do "road work" like the boxers do, where you break up your
walk along the route with some sets of squats, lunges, bench
push ups or other body weight or callisthenic exercises to
make it a real cardiovascular and muscle blaster of a workout!
It doesn?t have to be boring or the same thing every day. Make
it fun and keep it up consistently, leading an active
life-style 365 days a year.
Slow
and casual walking has benefits, but you will not get as much
out of walking at a very slow pace because we all have a
built-in mechanical advantage for walking long distances at
normal speeds.
Our
bodies, via the spinal column, muscle attachments and bony
structures, reserve energy in the musculoskeletal system and
release it back to us without asking for additional energy
output. In other words, as you walk, your spinal column keeps
energy in reserve because of the way you straighten and extend
your spine during normal walking.
As you
step, your spine is stretched, and as you take another step,
the energy reserved in the spine is used in propulsion. The
spine acts very much like rubber band as your walk, harnessing
this reserve energy.
To get
substantial cardiovascular, muscular and weight loss benefits,
this is why you must walk briskly or create extra movement
patterns beyond casual, slow walking in order to optimize your
walking program for weight loss and cardiovascular
fitness.
Walking the right way will
also improve your posture and tends to help keep you upright
(because you must see where you are going). Just hold your
chin up and shoulder slightly back.. Walk with your heels
hitting the ground first and your feet pointed forward. Swing
your arms fully and make lengthy strides.
To
lose weight and achieve optimum health, exercise and diet are
both necessary and interrelated. Exercising without
maintaining a balanced diet is no more beneficial than dieting
while remaining a couch potato.
Carbohydrates are
high-octane fuel. They provide energy for movement and help
raise internal body metabolism. They're also satisfying. The
key is to avoid adding high-fat and high calorie toppings to
your carbohydrates. Also be sure to focus on fruits and
vegetables and do not eat the majority of your carbohydrates
from the starch category such as bread, pasta, rice, and
potatoes. These type of carbs can create an insulin spike,
which in turn feeds your fat storing system.
Fruits
and vegetables are the ideal health, diet and fat loss foods
for many reasons. They're relatively low in fat and calories,
high in fiber and rich in essential vitamins and minerals. The
National Research Council recommends eating five or more
servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
Your
everyday habits will determine your long term body weight and
body composition. Make sure you get enough sleep, drink enough
water to expel toxins, avoid processed food as much as you
can, eat your fruits and veggies, eat organic when ever
possible and work hard.
Just
one last thought: taking a three-minute walk after each meal
is worth a four pound reduction in body fat in a year?s time.
Climbing two flights of stairs a day burns off half a pound of
body fat in a year. On the other hand, one candy bar eaten
daily will cost you 20 pounds annually.
http://www.flattenyourabs.net/
Coach David Grisaffi,
Tacoma Washington
About the Author:
David Grisaffi majored in physical
education and holds multiple certifications including 3 from
the prestigious CHEK Institute: Level II high Performance
Exercise Kinesiologist, Golf Biomechanic, and health and
lifestyle counselor. He's also certified by the ISSA as a
personal trainer and specialist in performance nutrition.
David has been a high school wrestling and baseball coach and
is currently an independent trainer and strength coach. He has
been sought after by some of the top athletes in professional
sports including world champion boxer Greg Haugen and
professional golfer Michael Putnam. David?s ebook, Firm And Flatten Your
Abs is an online best seller which teaches you how
develop ?six pack abs" while improving strength, function and
athletic power at the same time. Find out more on the home
page at: http://www.flattenyourabs.net/
