Walking For Fitness Women 40 yrs Plus

Walking Your Way to Fitness

Walking for Fitness - Women 40 yrs Plus, Walking and Exercise Tips for Women 40 yrs Plus

Walking - The Stressless Way to Fitness

Discover tips and strategies to enjoy your fitness and weight loss regime through the benefits of walking.

The Benefits of Walking

We all know the benefits to our health and well being from regular exercise. Walking is wonderful for us as it can be performed at a slower pace to begin with, and as our bodies become accustomed to moving, we can then challenge ourselves further by increasing the pace and/or the distance.

Increased optimism, self esteem, and mood enhancement or stress relief all result from exercise along with the reduced risk of falling ill due to a boost in the immune system. Bones are strengthened which helps fend off osteoporosis, the cardiovascular system is improved which helps ward off coronary disease and the threat of strokes, as well as improved sleep patterns. The biggest benefit that we can see from walking our way to fitness is the reduced body fat and the increased tone and strength to our bodies, especially the shape in our legs.

So, let's don the walking shoes and hit the pavement!!!

Suitable Footwear

Ensure that your training shoes are the correct fit, offer good support and have a reasonable shock absorption in the sole. Injuries can be sustained from ill-fitting or worn out shoes, such as shin splints, sore backs, knees and or hips. Having athletic shoes fitted in a sports store is a good idea, as you can be informed if your gait tends to pronate (roll inwards) or supinate (roll outwards) or be fortunate to have a neutral step.Should you suffer from either pronation or supination, the inner sole of various sports shoes can offer some additional support.

Body Posture

As I mentioned earlier, if you are new to walking, a twenty minute course is a good start, however if you wish to burn calories and attack the stored fat in the body, you will need to challenge yourself further. Make sure you can still chat, keep your breathing regular and begin to stride it out.

Keeping your posture erect, torso lifted from the hips, relax your shoulders and keep your eyes looking forward. With arms bent at approximately ninety degrees at your sides, swing your arms in opposition to your feet as you walk. Make sure that when swinging your arms that your front hand does not go higher than your shoulder and the rear hand stays around waist height. As you move forward, keep your head neutral and avoid looking down.

Now that you have all that, can you think to hold your abdominal muscles in as well? Maybe that could be a bit too much to ask at first, but keep it in the back of your mind and try to remember it as often as you can.

It is very important to touch the ground with your heel first, then roll through the whole foot to then allow you to push off with the ball of the foot and your toes. This movement will work the entire foot, take your weight evenly and allow the impetus to propel you forward.

Walking Accessories

A pedometer is a handy little tool for walkers. I love mine. You simply measure out your step and program the information into the pedometer and off you go. It will record the number of steps, total distance travelled, number of calories burned and some will give you your speed. These are an inexpensive tool which help keep you honest.

A great partner with walking is an mp3 player or ipod. Make a session of your favourite tunes and bop along with them. It is a good idea to gauge your stepping rhythm and record tunes which will keep you at a reasonable pace, and not allow you slow down too much.

Ipod and Nike have come together recently and devised a sport kit which is a sensor that fits into a specially designed pocket in the Nike shoe and voila! You have your own personal coach. The sensor tracks the distance travelled along with recording the time, pace of your step and also the total calories burned. What a great motivator!

Before you walk or perform any fitness activity, ensure you warm up your muscles with several gentle stretches of the major muscle groups e.g. calf, thigh, inner thigh, upper torso and arms. A few minutes of slow jogging on the spot will get you ready to set off. Ensure you remain hydrated with the good old water!

MY time

Walking can be an extremely enjoyable form of keeping in shape. I enjoy my walks as I feel it is 'time out' from my daily activities. It clears the mind, works out the kinks and frees me up to face the challenges ahead. You may also be fortunate to have a partner or friend who wants to keep you company as you walk your way to fitness together. How about the dog? If you don't have company, pick up your mp3 player instead.

To lose body fat, it is recommended that we walk 10,000 steps each day. Therefore, it is time to get out our pedometers and get them clicking over.

Walking for weight loss and fitness should not be a drag. There are umpteen ways to make this part of your fitness regime FUN! Be creative and make it a pastime that brings you enjoyment whilst at the same time boosting your energy levels and reducing the waist line.
Some of you may require further challenging and up the stakes to power walk. Are you one? Off you go, speed it up, or sit in your chair at your computer and visit Power Walkers World.
Whatever your fitness goals, make it happen. Sooner rather than later. Look at the pedometer above. It is ready for you to take your first step. The increased benefits to your health far outweigh the benefits of laying on the couch!
Start your Walking for fitness program today, and be
Absolutely Fabulous

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