I’ll be honest – I don’t remember what it was like to start a walking program as part of a new and healthy lifestyle. Not because it was too long ago, (although it was 20 years ago), but because I never made the conscious decision to start a walking program. For me, walking just happened. Daughter was young, One day I put her in the stroller and I raced off to my new world of peace and quiet. Just me and the road. Lots of time to enjoy my thoughts. (I was blessed with a happy and content child, who like me welcomed the opportunity to just look around and enjoy the world.) I walked quickly and strong, pushing Daughter along sidewalks and trails. Walking kept me sane. So for all intents and purposes my walking program was part of my lifestyle long before I considered myself a walker.
As time passed and my distances increased, I noticed the rewards that I was getting. (Now this is where I am supposed to do my duty as a trainer and extol the virtues of a walking fitness program. But let me hold the party line lecture with big words such as cardiovascular endurance and put it all in simple terms that we can relate to.) I had more energy. I was in better humour. I felt strong. I slept well. And best of all, my ample tookers (butt cheeks) and thighs toned up!
Eventually Daughter grew out of her willingness to be pushed around (although I did wear out two strollers before this happened) and I was on my own. And thus began my life as a Power Walker.
Now while I didn’t start walking in a specific manner, once I became a Power Walker I created a walking program with specified distances and training days. The routine kept me interested. The schedule kept ME a priority. The ‘me-time’ kept me sane. Over 16,000K later, I still rely on a set weekly plan to keep me on track.
So how can YOU get walking? Well…you can do what I did and just get out the door and start walking. Or if you are like most of us who prefer a defined strategy and plan for moving forward, I have an easy 3 step plan for creating a walking lifestyle. It’s not complicated. It fits in your life. The only challenge is that it requires YOU to participate.
Watch out – the first step is a big one!
STEP ONE – CREATE YOUR WALK The first thing that you need to do is determine how many days you will commit to walking each week. (Keep in mind that Canada’s Physical Activity Guide for Healthy Active Living prescribes 60 minutes of activity everyday, seven days a week.) I will give you three choices:
- 3 days per week You are active and want to add another activity to your fitness program.
- 5 days per week You are inactive and need to make a lifestyle change
- 7 days per week You want to use walking as part of a weight reduction program
Select the number of days that you will commit to and COMMIT to it! This is the most important thing you can do to achieve success. YOU have to commit to YOUR walking program. Come hell or high water, you must be willing to get those walks in every week. You have to believe that you are a priority, and just as you would show up for your doctor’s appointment, you will show up for your walking appointment.
Next you need to decide how long your walks will be. Again, I will give you three choices:
- 30 minutes A realistic beginning point.
- 45 minutes My favourite time – if you Power Walk, you can get at least 5K completed
- 60 minutes The optimal commitment, especially if you aren’t active – and keep in mind that you can schedule this into two 30 minute walks – one in the morning, one in the evening
Now that you have defined the number of days per week and the length of your walks you can begin creating your personalized walking schedule.
Take out a calendar, print one from your Word templates, or draw one on a piece of paper. You need a calendar for one month of days. Identify your start date. (Here’s a hint. Starting at the beginning of the week usually doesn’t work – we lose momentum between our decision and the start date. So if today is Thursday then commit to start on Friday.) Now look at the next seven days. What other commitments do you have for the next seven days? Put them on your calendar. Once you have marked previous commitments schedule in your walks.
It is best if you pick the same time on each of your training days. For some it may be after work, just before supper. For others, it may be at lunch. My favourite time is early morning, before breakfast. And sometimes it may just have to be scheduled in because you have other commitments. Such as Sue’s party on Saturday night which will have feeling a bit “under the weather” on Sunday morning, so you opt to move a regularly scheduled walk to another day. Here is a sample Walking Plan.
Once you have your walks scheduled on your calendar, carve them into your brain. Tell family and friends that you have these appointments and get in the habit of saying, “Sorry I have an appointment” when someone tries to get you to do something at the same time as your scheduled walk.
STEP TWO – SET YOUR PACE There are lots of different types of walkers out there but they generally fit into these categories:
- Recreational walk – walking at a fairly brisk pace, but able to hold a conversation comfortably
- Fitness walk - invested walking and conversation is NOT comfortable
- Power walk – invested walking with a specific technique – conversation is NOT comfortable
- Race walk – walking at running speed, which requires a specific technique and speed
It’s always best to decide what pace you are going to work out at. While any activity is helpful, I advocate that when you walk you invest in your walk and work up a sweat. If you can hold a conversation, you aren’t working hard enough!
So how fast is fitness walking? It all depends on your stride length and your physical ability. Assuming a healthy average weight man and woman, a 5′ 3″ woman walking at a pace of 9 minutes per kilometer, will be moving her feet very quickly – and working up a sweat! A 6′ 3″ man on the other hand will require a lot less effort to maintain the same pace – in fact he would have to increase his pace to 7.5 minutes per kilometer to be investing the same amount of energy.
How do you know if you’re walking fast enough? Two things can help. Try talking. If you can continue chatting away, you’re not working hard enough. Second, are you sweating. About 5 minutes into your walk you should be starting to sweat. Ten minutes in, you will definitely be sweating – not hot yoga room sweating, but a comfortable beading on the small of your back will indicate that you have invested in your walk.
NOW GET OUT WALKING! If you have opted for a 60 minute walk, head out for 30 minutes and then turn around and head home. Pretty simple. No fancy toys needed. No mapping routes on GMAP. Just head out the door and explore your neighborhood for an hour.
STEP THREE – ADD A LONG TRAINING DAY By the time that you’ve completed your first month of training days you should be feeling comfortable and will have established the pattern of a regular walking program – if not complete another month of training before tackling Step Three.
To implement Step Three you need to make one of your walks into what we call a long training day. Pick a day that you are typically free and schedule this as your long training day (I like the weekend for this). Then at least double your walking time. Your training schedule will now look like this.
It is all as simple as that. A Walking Plan designed by you that works with your schedule. Let me know when you completed a month of Step Three. Then we can chat about marathon training! 