Are you frustrated at only getting three days in the gym when you’d really like to workout at least five. You can get exercise other places. In fact, I often recommend it. It helps lead to a more active lifestyle that isn’t sedentary between gym visits. Many of my clients find that increasing walking not only boosts their energy level, it also helps shed pounds more quickly and can be done anywhere and any time. When you make walking a priority, you find opportunities that add to your workout time, a few minutes at a time.

Walking can be done by almost everyone.

If you’re just starting to get back into shape, your personal trainer will create a workout designed specifically for your needs. If you don’t have access to a trainer and want to be on the safe side, start walking daily to begin your regimen. It will boost your energy and improve your endurance. Walking can help your efforts for weight loss and prevent or manage diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

You need to walk briskly to maximize the results.

If you’re completely out of shape, walk fast enough to get your heart pounding but not so fast that you wear out quickly. You’ll soon build endurance to walk a little faster for a little longer. Start focusing on ways to increase your walking. Shopping at a strip malls and walking from store to store or even window shopping at a large mall can boost your walking time. Parking further from the store and walking or taking the staircase instead of the elevator boosts your heart rate and walking time.

Walking does many things, but isn’t the total answer.

While walking is heart healthy and does provide some weight bearing exercise to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, it doesn’t do everything. You also need regular strength training and flexibility training to help prevent injury. The strength training will also help you shed pounds faster if that’s your goal. Even though walking is a weight bearing exercise, you’ll boost your protection from osteoporosis by adding even more strength training to your workout schedule, too. Walking is a good place to start and can get you more active and ready for more difficult workouts.

• You have to walk briskly to get the most results. You need a minimum of thirty minutes of brisk walking a day, with 60 to 90 minutes boosting your weight loss efforts.
• Some people find that alternating a day of walking with a day of working out in the gym helps them get into shape faster and also reduces the risk of injury by giving their muscles a day of rest from the gym.
• Even though you walk frequently, always start with a few warmup stretches before you begin a vigorous walk.
• When you’re walking, always start more slowly, about half of your maximum effort and gradually move the pace up to about 75%. You can even use HIIT by varying the speed from slow to rapid and back again.