Walking is a low-impact cardiovascular exercise that elevates your heart rate, burns calories and builds physical stamina. However, even a moderate workout like a brisk walk can cause pain and strain in your midsection. While mild pain in your muscles, tendons and joints is probably just part of working out, more intense pain may point to problems with how you exercise. If your midsection pain persists or worsens, speak with your doctor.
Eating Before Walking
Strike a balance between eating enough to energize yourself before your workout and consuming portions and foods that slow down your digestive process. Fatty foods get trapped in your digestive tract, causing bloating, gas and midsection pain. Eat a light snack about one hour before walking. Good choices include 1/4 cup of dried fruit or unsweetened nuts. Fresh fruit such as a banana or an apple give you quick energy for your walk. If you work out in the morning, get up early enough to have a snack at least 30 minutes before walking. Chew your food thoroughly and drink plain water while eating to aid your digestive process.
Warming Up for Walking
Prepare your body for your walk to help avoid midsection pain and injury. The best way to get your blood pumping oxygen to your muscles, tendons and joints involves doing light aerobic activity. Start your walk with 10 minutes of slow walking, gradually moving faster. Lightly swing your arms to increase your heart rate. Breathe deeply, filling your chest and abdomen and exhale completely. Once your joints feel lubricated and your muscles feel warm, you can do stretching. If you exercise in cold temperatures or first thing in the morning, spend extra time warming up for your walk.
Proper Form
Hold your body in proper form while walking. Locking your joints, overextending your limbs or clenching your muscles can cause pain. Regulate your breathing as you intensify your exercise. Some people tense themselves for hill-climbing, race-walking, squatting or lifting, and reflexively hold their breath. Holding your breath or breathing shallowly stalls the flow of oxygen through your bloodstream and to your midsection and extremities, potentially causing pain.
Resting
If you experience midsection pain that you suspect is from over-exertion, you should rest. Your options include slowing your pace, switching from a hilly route to a flat route, stretching instead of walking or discontinuing the workout. Varying your pace and activity during a walk benefits your in several ways beside potentially reducing abdominal pain. You work new muscle groups if you stop to do resistance or flexibility exercises. You burn more calories by speeding up and slowing down than you do by working out at the same pace for the duration of your walk. Finally, you keep your exercise regimen diverse and interesting, improving your chances of sticking to your fitness goals.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Walking: Trim Your Waistline, Improve Your Health; Dec. 18, 2010
- American Heart Association; Getting Started -- Tips for Long-Term Success; Jan. 19, 2011
- American Council on Exercise: Warm Up to Work Out
- MayoClinic.com; Bloating, Belching and Intestinal Gas: How To Avoid Them; April 23, 2011
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