"Walking is man's best medicine," wrote Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine. If you can put one foot in front of the other, you can enjoy the tonic of this anytime, anywhere activity. Knowing your waking pace can help you to improve upon your current fitness level. Mayoclinic.com recommends taking 10,000 steps a day. If you do this each day for a week, you can burn up to 3,500 calories or the caloric equivalent of 1 lb. of fat.
Step 1
Mark a distance of 30 feet. Step forward and walk normally from the starting line to the finish line. Count your steps along the way.
Step 2
Divide the number of steps you walked by the distance in feet to determine the length of your pace or stride. For example, if it took 12 steps to cover the 30 feet, your stride or pace length is 2.5 feet.
Step 3
Walk comfortably timing yourself for a quarter mile to determine your walking pace, the actual time it takes to cover a specified distance. Determine a quarter mile by driving the distance in your car first or using a marked track.
Step 4
Divide 60 minutes by the number of minutes walked and multiply by the distance in miles. For example, if you walk a quarter mile in five minutes, your speed or walking pace would be 3 miles per hour.
Step 5
Divide the distance in feet by the length of your pace to calculate the number of steps you walked. In this example, your pace measures 2.5 feet and there are 1,320 feet in a quarter mile, so you would have walked 3,300 paces or steps.
Tips and Warnings
- Take water with you on your walk and dress in loose, light layers that you can easily remove so you don't overheat. Keep a journal of your travels. Tracking your time and distance improvements can be motivational. Invest in a pedometer to keep track of your paces through the day. Online calculators can help you determine the calories you burn by entering your recorded data.
- Wear bright or reflective clothing. Keep to the sidewalk or keep far off the side of the road and watch carefully for oncoming traffic.
Things You'll Need
- Walking shoes
- Measuring tape
- Calculator
- Pedometer
- Watch with second hand or stop watch
References
- The Quotations Page: Hippocrates : Walking is man's best medicine
- MayoClinic.com: Help for the Couch Potato
- ACE Fitness: Fit Facts-Calorie Burners
- BellaOnline: How to Measure Your Step or Stride - Walking
- Green Communities: Active and Safe Routes to School : So How Long Would it Take to Walk Around the World
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