Walking can be both exciting as well as challenging when you first take on this sometimes tedious endeavor. But you want to be careful not to fall into a repetitive “rut” by repeating the same walking routine over and over. Remember, busy ladies, we have to make variety our spice of life. It’s always good to shake things up a little when it comes to any kind of workout regimen. Here are some ways to add variety to your walking workout, whether you are outdoors enjoying the environment or indoors enjoying your favorite TV show.
- Walk on an Incline: On a treadmill, start with it flat. Once you are comfortable with that, challenge yourself to add 1 percent every couple of weeks. Be sure not to add too much incline to where you have to hold on to the treadmill or can’t walk with proper form. If that happens, bring it back down to a comfortable but challenging level. When walking outside, change your route up a little to include occasional hills. The change of scenery will help keep you from getting bored, while the hills will add more intensity to your workout.
- A Spoon Full of Water: Well, maybe more than just a spoon full. Try walking in water that is waist high or more. That task is harder than it seems. The water pushing back against you as you try to tread through it will make the walk much more challenging. As a result, walking on land will feel easier since you would have trained in the water; not to mention that water exercise is easier on the joints. While in the swimming pool, walk across the shallow end. Try walking the width of the pool and remember to use your arms. Move as quickly as you can for 10 seconds then slower for 1 minute.
- Take Your Dog Along: If your pup is like mine, she likes to pull when she walks. Try keeping up with your dog if it takes the lead. Even if you are not ready for a trot, keep your dog at a speed that gives you a power walk that will get your heart rate up.
- Change Your Direction: “to the right, to the right, to the right, to the right…to the left, to the left, to the left, to the left — you get the message. It’s the norm to move forward when going for a walk; but try walking laterally, side to side, or backwards. If you try either of these moves, be careful that your balance is not off and that you don’t have balance issues. Keep your body facing in one direction and focus on the movement of your outer and inner thighs as you step to the side. Remember to lead with one leg, then switch and lead with the opposite leg.
The sky is the limit as to how many different ways you can change your walking routine. Change it up a bit by trying short, medium, and long duration walks. Try low, moderate, and high intensities and even change up the days of the week that you chose to walk. The more you change up, the better your results will be.