There’s no doubt about it — walking is good for you. Want to make it even better? Try these tips.
- Make sure your walking music is safe. Keep the volume at a reasonable level. Make sure you can still hear traffic if you’re walking outside. Look for a headphone that sits in front of the ear, rather than inside it to protect your hearing.
- Count your steps. Pedometers are pretty reasonable in the price department these days. Try to take one thousand steps in ten minutes of walking. Too much counting? Try to take one hundred steps in a minute. Keep that pace — a fast stride may lengthen your life span. A study from the National Institutes of Health found that walkers in their seventies who could walk a quarter mile in five minutes were nearly a third less likely to die in the next five years than walkers who took six minutes or more to go the same distance.
- Can’t count your steps? Watch your distance and time. If you can walk a mile in twenty minutes or less, you’re at a good, healthy pace.
- Strengthen the right muscles. If you have an exercise ball, try this move: sit on your ball with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your rump an inch or so off the ball. Side step a few inches to the right. Sit back down and start over. Once you’ve gone all the way around, go in the opposite direction. You’ll work your hips, thighs, and rear end while building balance.
If you’re walking at dawn or dusk (or in the dark) be sure you’re walking safe. Make sure SOMETHING you are wearing is reflective, so drivers can see you. I just saw some really cute reflective jackets (for people AND pets) in a Lands End catalog — they even light up!