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| In the warm weather it is always a good idea to walk at a track when doing interval training |
Day 16 Walking 30 minutes can be the best workout ... but you have to work for it!
That's right, just getting out the door for 30 minutes can give you the most beneficial workout gift you can possibly give yourself.I am sure that some of you are sceptical ... I would have told you that you were being ridiculous in my past life as a club fitness instructor. I didn't event think that walking was exercise let alone the very best thing that you could do for your body and your mind!
The trick is that you have to commit to doing interval training during this walk. This is an easy concept but it involves pushing your fitness limits for a short period of time, as short as 20 seconds to 1 minute in which you pick up your speed and move as fast as you can for that period of time. That burst of energy is then followed by a recovery period and all that means is that you slow down and let your heart recover. Your recovery period should be at least twice as long as your interval or longer. You might begin with 30 seconds of 'As Fast As You Can' walking followed by 3 or 4 minutes of steady walking ( not slow but a steady fitness walk) to get your heart rate down and feel ready to go at that AFAYC pace for your next interval.
So your beginner 30 minute interval walk might look like this :
Warm up 7 minutes
Interval #1 - 30 seconds As Fast As You Can walking pace
Recover 4 minutes
Interval #2 - 30 seconds AFAYC walking
Recover 4 minutes
Interval #3 - 30 seconds AFAYC walking
Recover 4 minutes
Interval #4 - 30 seconds AFAYC walking
Recovery 4 minutes
Cool down 5 minute
= 30 minutes and a great workout!
You will see and feel the benefit of interval training in a few weeks if you make 2 of your walk30's into interval workouts. Your cardiovascular system will improve and your strength and speed will improve too. You might even find you have more energy and endurance in other parts of your life. There is a growing science around this kind of exercise model that I will talk about in blogs in the future.
For now just give intervals a try on your next walk30 ... Walk On Strong!
Sue
I was at that walking track today. I walked for awhile with Ellen Koehler, that woman I was telling you about. She is walking 22 miles a day for 30 days straight to raise funds for Clean Water for Attawapiskat. Great place to walk - the cold air is like heaven!!
ReplyDeleteThe Activa is a wonderful track! Glad you were out in support of this great cause.
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