TAG | workout
Walking is a great form of exercise which the large majority of people can do. It requires no special equipment or training, it’s free and you can fit it into your day whenever it suits you best. The health benefits read like an advert for some new wonder drug or health supplement – and they can be obtained with no more than minor changes to your daily routine.
Many health and medical advisers suggest that 10,000 steps a day are all that is required in order to obtain the significant health benefits on offer. That’s approximately four and a half to five miles for the average person. It sounds like a fair old distance – but it’s very much easier to achieve than you would think. Bearing in mind all the potential health benefits, it’s worthwhile making the effort to walk just a little further each day.
Of course, we live in a society which is increasingly sedentary – so it may very well be that you currently miss the recommended 10,000 daily steps (possibly by quite some way). If you’re not sure how many steps you currently take then it might be a good idea to get hold of a pedometer in order to find out what your daily average is. You can pick these up pretty cheaply these days – but be certain to choose one which has a double axis sensor fitted as these tend to be more accurate.
Once you’ve established exactly how many steps you average per day, you should look for ways to make up any difference between your daily average and the 10,000 step target. There are many different ways to do this – but be sensible and build up gradually – don’t try to do everything all at once.
If you can set aside time each day for a dedicated walk then that’s great. However, if that’s not a practical proposition for you then there are plenty of ways to fit walking into your day. Go for a ten or fifteen minute walk during your lunch break. Leave the car at home and walk to work, or get off the bus a couple of stops early and complete your journey on foot.
Make the most of modern technology by walking and talking when you’re on your mobile phone. A fifteen minute telephone call can give you the opportunity to get in somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 extra steps. There are many other opportunities to get your step count up – and they soon mount up.
Be sure to seek the advice of your doctor before you commence any new exercise routine – especially if you have any medical conditions, haven’t exercised for some time or are over forty years old. However, because walking is a low impact workout which carries a very low injury risk (as long as you’re sensible), you should begin to receive a number of health benefits if you walk on a regular basis. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how quickly you see and feel the results.
Use an Omron pedometer to monitor your progress and try Fit flops exercise shoes to help maximise the effectiveness of your walking exercise program.
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Would Nordic Walking Be A Good Exercise Option For You?
0 Comments | Posted by Hamish Hayward in Uncategorized
Physical exercise, carried out on a consistent and frequent basis, is a very important factor in raising health and fitness levels and lowering the risk of – or avoiding – many health problems and diseases. Most of us are aware of this – but it can be difficult to find the motivation to take regular exercise. Aside from the fact that many people will perceive exercise as physically draining, dull and expensive (gym membership fees cost a lot of money), it can also be difficult to find the time for exercise in your busy and demanding daily schedule.
Walking is one form of exercise which the majority of us perform every day. It is, therefore, a very important factor in determining the overall health and fitness level of an individual. If carried out on a regular basis, walking has the potential to provide many health benefits. It can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke as well as reducing blood pressure levels. It can help combat anxiety and depression. It will help you to sleep better at night – and you will have more energy and feel generally better. It can reduce the risk of contracting certain types of cancer. Recent research suggests that it may even help to avoid Alzheimer’s disease. And of course, it will burn calories, build muscle and help you to lose weight.
All that you need to get started is a good comfortable pair of shoes. There’s no need for any special equipment and you can fit walking into your day as and when it suits you. If you can walk for 30 minutes a day, 3 or 4 times a week, you will soon start to see – and feel – results. If you can gradually build up to 10,000 steps a day – roughly equivalent to 5 miles – you will really notice a difference. You will feel better and look better.
If, having gradually increased the distance and time that you walk for each day, you would like to get more out of your walking workout, then you could try Nordic walking. Nordic walking is a fairly recent development which originated in Finland when skiers wanted a method of keeping fit in the summertime and a means to prepare for the winter skiing season. Basically, it involves walking with adapted ski poles. It’s a bit like skiing without the skis – or the snow.
There are two main advantages to Nordic walking. Firstly, it utilises the upper body and promotes activity in muscles which are not normally heavily used during normal walking activity. Secondly, it reduces the load on the lower body muscles and joints.
These two factors result in even further benefits in comparison with conventional walking. There is a 20 to 40% increase in the rate of energy expenditure – and the additional upper body movement promotes agility and flexibility.There is less stress in the lower body muscles and joints as a consequence of reduced lower body loading. For some walkers, the use of poles might have safety benefits – and this could allow people recovering from injury or illness to get a higher intensity workout than would otherwise be possible.
Whether you go for Nordic or conventional walking, the prospective health benefits are very worthwhile for you. Before you start out on any new exercise program you should seek the advice of your doctor – especially if you haven’t exercised for a while or if you have any medical conditions. However, if you’re sensible and start off gradually, then you will be able to gain some very real and significant health benefits by walking.
Boost the effectiveness of your walking workout with Fitflops fitness shoes. They’re specially designed to increase the amount of work your lower body muscles perform during normal walking activity. Both women’s and men’s Fitflops are available in a wide choice of colors and styles.
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Tips To Succeed When Working With A Personal Trainer
0 Comments | Posted by Rhonda Filetti in Uncategorized
How often you meet with your trainer is probably going to change over time based on things like schedule, your needs at a particular time and finances. As a personal trainer for 10 years, I have clients that I meet with as little as once a month and clients that I see as often as 4 times a week. Sometimes people have an idea of how often they want to meet with me and other times they are looking to me for guidance in making this decision. I will make suggestions and usually we end up figuring it out together. While you’re trying to figure out what’s right for you, it’s important to consider things like your level of experience and your patterns of success and failure.
If you are totally new to exercise, schedule 2 or 3 appointments a week for at least 3 weeks. The beginning of a new attempt to start exercising is a critical time. Most people fall off in the first month due to injury or lack of motivation. Think of all of the people who make new years resolutions to get in shape. You know as well as I know that the odds are not with them that it will last. If this sounds familiar, you have to break the pattern!
If falling off your exercise schedule is a pattern for you then I suggest having once or twice weekly appointments with your trainer indefinitely. Here’s why: An appointment with your trainer once a week makes you accountable and that’s good. I have clients that I’ve worked with once or twice a week for 9 years and counting! Before they started working with me, their exercise came in waves. Not now. I keep them on track. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had clients say to me “I never would have worked out today if we didn’t have this appointment.” Be honest with yourself, there’s no shame in admitting that you just won’t do it on your own but then do something about it. Trainers understand.
Lots of people know what to do at the gym but they can’t seem to get to the gym. If you know you have a hard time making it happen I suggest maintaining a weekly appointment with a trainer. So often my clients will say to me “I never would have come today if we didn’t have this appointment.” Accountability is a perfectly fine reason to have a trainer. Keeping that appointment on the calendar ensures that weeks and months aren’t going to go by without working out. It’s easy to blow off a workout we schedule with ourselves it’s a lot harder to blow off a workout scheduled with you trainer.
Of course when you’re trying to figure out how often to see a trainer budget is going to come up. The two of you can talk about what you have to spend and they will help you to get the most out of your money. It’s the trainer’s job to assess the situation and make suggestions about what they think will be helpful. The two of you can then decide together how you will move forward.
Remember you don’t have to sign on for a package of sessions right away. Take your time in deciding if you have picked the right person and if you want to keep working with them. It may seem like a lot of money but if you re lucky enough to find a trainer you enjoy and you’re getting results, I am confident that it will be worth every dime!
Picking the right Denver Personal Trainer can make or break your goal to get in shape. We can be your fitness confidant and sketch a personal workout plan that is best for you. Visit www.filettifitness.com right now for more information.
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Easy Ways To Fit A Walking Workout Into Your Day
0 Comments | Posted by Hamish Hayward in Uncategorized
If you’re looking for a way to take exercise on a regular basis, then you can’t do much better than walking. The majority of us do it – to a greater or lesser extent – every day. You don’t need any special kit or equipment – just a comfortable pair of shoes. You can fit it into your daily schedule whenever it’s most convenient for you – and since there are no monthly membership fees to pay, it’s a very cost effective way to exercise.
The health benefits of walking are many and varied. It’s actually hard to believe that so many benefits are obtainable from such an easily accomplished, low impact, low injury risk workout. Consistency is the key – regular low level exercise is very much better than sporadic bursts of intense physical activity.
Walking for half an hour a day, three or four times a week, on a regular basis, will provide you with results that you can both see and feel. If you can gradually increase to 10,000 steps each day – which is the equivalent of somewhere between four and a half and five miles for most people – you will really start to reap the rewards. Five miles may sound like a lot – but it’s much more achievable than you might think.
There are any number of opportunities to get a little extra walking in each day. If you have the time to schedule in a thirty minute or one hour walking session then that’s ideal. However, if that’s not possible for you then don’t worry – there are plenty of ways to increase your daily step count.
Leaving the car and walking to work or the shops is an oft repeated piece of good advice. If that’s not a practical proposition for you due to the distance involved then take the car as normal – no need to feel guilty. Just park in a faraway corner of the parking lot so that you can have a slightly longer walk than normal to the entrance. If you travel by bus or metro then maybe you could get off a couple of stops in advance of your destination and complete your journey by walking.
Take a ten or fifteen minute stroll around the block at lunchtime. You’ll have more energy, and you’ll be more mentally alert, throughout the course of the afternoon. Make the most of modern technology by walking around when you’re talking on your mobile or cordless phone. One fifteen minute phone call can allow you to fit an extra 1,000 steps into your day.
If most of your walking is fitted into your day on a piece-meal basis, then you might want to consider getting yourself a pedometer. These can be worn discreetly on your belt or carried in your pocket. A pedometer will let you monitor your progress in terms of the number of steps taken, the distance covered or the number of calories burned. Tracking your progress in this manner will help you to stay motivated and will encourage you to seek out ever more innovative ways of incorporating walking into your daily routine.
Discover how Fitflops exercise shoes can boost the effectiveness of your walking workout. Try using an Omron pedometer to track your progress and help you to stay motivated.
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The Many Benefits Of Incorporating Walking Into Your Daily Routine
0 Comments | Posted by Hamish Hayward in Uncategorized
Walking is a great way to take exercise which is suitable for almost everyone. It’s a low impact form of exercise which, compared to other exercise types, carries a very low risk of injury. You can fit it into your daily schedule whenever it’s most convenient for you – there’s no need to set aside time for a visit to the gym (and no monthly membership fee to pay).
There’s no shortage of opportunities to introduce walking into your daily routine. One very common suggestion is to leave your car at home and walk to work or school. Even if the distance involved means that that isn’t a realistic option for you then just take the car as normal but park it in the faraway corner of the parking lot. If you travel on the bus or the subway then maybe you could get off a couple of stops early and walk the remainder of the way. During your lunch hour, go for a short ten or fifteen minute walk around the block.
These very small changes to your normal routine will, if applied on a consistent basis, result in some very substantial health benefits for you. Walking can reduce the risk of stroke and heart problems as well as helping to reduce blood pressure levels. It will help you to sleep better and combat both anxiety and depression. Regular walking will provide you with more energy – you will feel less fatigued throughout the day. It can even help to lower the risk of certain forms of cancer – and recent research suggests that it can help against Alzheimer’s disease. For many people one of the most appealing benefits of walking on a regular basis will be the fact that it can help you to lose weight.
That’s a very lengthy and impressive list of health benefits from an exercise which can be undertaken by most people and which, apart from a comfortable pair of shoes, requires no special equipment. You can get special exercise shoes which raise the effectiveness of your walking workout these days – but a comfy pair that don’t give you blisters is all you need to get started.
One piece of inexpensive equipment which you may find useful – but which isn’t strictly necessary – is a pedometer. These can be worn on your belt or tucked away discreetly in your pocket and will display your results in terms of the number of steps taken, the distance covered or the number of calories burned. You may find it easier to stay motivated and keep walking consistently when you have some data to work with.
If you don’t already own one, then an mp3 player might be something else to consider. It’s not strictly necessary – but the miles and the time will pass much faster when you’re listening to your favourite tunes.
It’s almost incredible to think that such small changes in your daily routine can produce such significant health benefits for you. Make walking an integral part of your daily routine. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll feel the benefit.
Discover how Fitflops exercise shoes can boost the effectiveness of your walking exercise regime. Both women’s and men’s Fitflops are available in a wide range of colors and styles.

