Walking is a low-impact form of cardiovascular exercise that involves the major muscles working in a repetitive fashion for an extended time frame. According to the American Council on Exercise, a regular walking program can improve your cholesterol profile, lower blood pressure, increase your energy and stamina, and prevent weight gain. If you want to spice up your walking program, experiment with different types of workouts.
Power Walking
Power walking is an intense form of walking that is one step away from running. To power walk, increase your pace to a point where you almost have to run, and really pump your arms. By forcefully pumping your arms, your muscles get worked harder than they would with a slow-paced walk.
Hill Walking
Walking on flat ground is beneficial, but walking up hills can make your workouts more interesting and place more emphasis on your calf and glute muscles. Find a hill nearby that is approximately 50-yards long. After walking at a moderate pace for five to 10 minutes to warm up, walk up the hill at a steady pace, walk back down and repeat several times. To challenge yourself even more, mix in bouts of walking up the hill backwards and sideways. By walking backwards, you will place more emphasis on the shin muscles and quadriceps. By side-stepping up the hill, you will tone your hip abductor muscles, which consist of the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and tensor fascia lata.
Interval Training
If climbing hills isn't for you but you still want to increase the challenge, resort to interval training. To do interval training, start out with a light-paced walk for five to 10 minutes to warm up. Walk as fast as you can for 20 seconds, walk at a moderate pace for 40 seconds and continue to alternate back and forth for 20 to 30 minutes. According to MayoClinic.com, the more vigorously you exercise, the more calories you'll burn--even if you increase intensity for just a few minutes at a time. When doing this walking exercise, make your low bouts two to three times longer than your high ones.
Sprint Training
Sprint training is similar to interval training in that you do high-intensity bursts. This type of program is for people that really want to kick their workouts up a notch. To do sprint training, walk for five to 10 minutes, sprint as hard as you can for 30 seconds, then walk for 60 to 90 seconds. Alternate back and forth for 20 to 30 minutes. Basically, you are using walking for your rest periods instead of standing still.
Leisure Walking
Leisure walking is done at a light to moderate pace, and it can be used as a relaxation tool or as a kick-start to getting into shape if you are just beginning to exercise. Perform this type of walking for at least 30 minutes to reap the health benefits.
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