Maximize your fat and calorie burn with these breakthrough walking workouts from Stanten, adapted from Prevention's Walk Your Way to Better Health.
30-20-10 Intervals
The faster you go, the more calories you burn. That may seem like common sense, but what you may not know is that calorie burn increases exponentially, not linearly, when you crank up your pace.
The faster you go, the more calories you burn. That may seem like common sense, but what you may not know is that calorie burn increases exponentially, not linearly, when you crank up your pace.
Speeding up from 2.5 mph (24-minute-per-mile pace) to 3 mph
(20-minute-per-mile pace) nets you an extra 36 calories an hour. But a
0.5 mph increase at faster speeds results in bigger jumps in calorie
burn. Going from 3 to 3.5 mph (20- to 17-minute-per-mile pace) blasts an
extra 57 calories an hour.
And you get the greatest calorie
bumps when you rev up above 4 mph (15-minute-per-mile pace). Going from 4
to 4.5 mph (13-minute-per-mile pace) incinerates nearly an extra 150
calories an hour.
(Discover how Prevention's Walk Your Way to Better Health burns more fat and calories than traditional walking plans. In fact, you can lose up to 6x more weight!)
There are also more health benefits to be gained by speeding up:
lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, better blood sugar control, and
reduced risk of several diseases. With all of those healthy benefits,
it's no surprise then that faster walkers also tend to live longer than
strollers, according to research published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.
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Luckily, you don't have to push the pace for a full 30 minutes to get
results. You can do shorter interval workouts instead. Interval
training involves mixing faster speeds or intensities with slower speeds
or intensities to challenge your muscles and lungs.
Try this superfast calorie-incinerating interval workout to max out your metabolism.
• Warm up for 3 minutes
• Walk briskly for 30 seconds (aiming for an intensity of a 6 on a 1-to-10 scale)
• Walk even faster for 20 seconds (aim for an intensity of an 8)
• Kill it by going as fast as you can for 10 seconds
• Perform 3 to 4 total 30-20-10 cycles, recovering by walking slowly for 1 minute between each cycle
• Walk briskly for 30 seconds (aiming for an intensity of a 6 on a 1-to-10 scale)
• Walk even faster for 20 seconds (aim for an intensity of an 8)
• Kill it by going as fast as you can for 10 seconds
• Perform 3 to 4 total 30-20-10 cycles, recovering by walking slowly for 1 minute between each cycle
Walk and Tone Workouts
Starting around age 25, most people lose about 5 to 10 pounds of muscle each decade. Through strength training, however, you can build and maintain fat-burning muscle that will power up your walks and burn more calories—even when you're not on your feet.
Starting around age 25, most people lose about 5 to 10 pounds of muscle each decade. Through strength training, however, you can build and maintain fat-burning muscle that will power up your walks and burn more calories—even when you're not on your feet.
In Prevention's Walk Your Way to Better Health program, you don't need to do long strength-training workouts at the gym. Instead, try this "toning walk" three times a week.
3 minutes: Warm up
4 minutes: Walk briskly (aiming for an intensity of a 6 or 7 on a 1-to-10 scale)
Walking lunges: Take a giant step forward with your
right foot. Bend your knees and lower your body straight down toward the
ground. Your right thigh should be parallel or almost parallel to the
ground. Keep your right knee over your right ankle. Your back (left)
knee should be pointing toward the ground. Your left heel will come off
of the ground. Press into both feet to stand back up, bringing your left
foot forward to meet your right foot. Now step forward with your left
foot. Do 20 reps, alternating which foot "walks" forward with each rep.
4 minutes: Walk briskly (aiming for an intensity of a 6 or 7 on a 1-to-10 scale)
Elevated push-ups:
Place your hands shoulder-width apart on a bench, wall, railing, log,
picnic table, piece of playground equipment, or anything else you can
find. Walk your feet back so your body forms a plank—or a straight line
from your head to your ankles. Keep your head in line with your spine
and don't bend at the hips. Bend your elbows at a 45-degree angle from
your torso and lower your chest toward the bench. Hold for a second, and
then straighten your arms, pressing back to the start position. Do 10
to 12 reps.
(Click here to check out Prevention's full Walk Your Way to Better Health program,
which lets you customize your workouts based on the results you want.
It combines interval walking with simple strength exercises to help you
drop pounds and slim your legs, hips, arms, and tummy.)
4 minutes: Walk briskly (aiming for an intensity of a 6 or 7 on a 1-to-10 scale)
[post_ads]Traveling squats:
Stand tall with your feet together. Step your right foot out to
the side so your feet are just wider than shoulder-width apart. Bend
your hips and knees and lower your butt as if you were sitting in an
imaginary chair. As you lower, keep your knees behind your toes, your
head up, and chest lifted as you lower. Lower until your butt is just
above knee height. Hold for a second, and then press into your feet to
stand up, bringing your left foot in to meet your right. Repeat stepping
to the right with your right foot. Do 10 reps moving to the right, and
then 10 reps stepping to the left.
4 minutes: Walk briskly (aiming for an intensity of a 6 or 7 on a 1-to-10 scale)
Plank walks: Stand tall with your feet together.
Bend your knees and squat all the way down, placing your hands on the
floor right outside your feet. Keep your feet stationary and walk your
hands forward until your body forms a plank (think: the top of a
push-up). Your body should form a straight line from your head to your
heels, balancing on the palms of your hands and your toes and balls of
your feet.
Then, keeping your hands stationary, walk your feet
toward your hands. Repeat walking your hands out, and then your feet to
meet them. Do 10 to 12 reps.
4 minutes: Walk briskly (aiming for an intensity of a 6 or 7 on a 1-to-10 scale)
2 minutes: Cool down
