With the holiday season upon us, it’s quite normal to add a couple of extra pounds or three. If you’re among the legions of well-wishes that intend to start a health and fitness program at the turn of the New Year, we’ve got news for you.
You can burn body fat off without breaking through the proverbial ‘no pain no gain barriers. Brisk walking.
Well, okay, there might be a bit of pain but you won’t feel brisk walking is a slog like around at the gym, cycling uphill or a five-mile jog. As a matter of fact, walking is known to have more benefits than running.
Studies show that 30-minutes, or around 7500 steps of brisk walking per day, helps to prevent a long list of health issues. When performed properly, walking at a pace also burns body fat.
Of course, how your body burns fat largely depends on your metabolism and individual chemistry. Historically, rigorous exercise was thought to be the best fat burner because you perspire more, but that’s not always the case.
Providing you perform moderate exercise on a regular basis you will systematically lose weight. There are other tricks you can try as well. Check this article out in Medical News Today for some ideas.
Join A Walking Group For More Benefits
Researchers in the UK found that joining a walking club is not only good for losing weight but being around other people also stimulates your emotional wellbeing.
An exercise program called Walking for Health has become a hugely popular network of walkers, amassing some 70,000 participants. If you need any motivation to go walking, having a larger support group can help lever you into your walking shoes.
Brisk Walking Tips for Burning Fat
It is regarded that the best time for walking is during the first morning light. This time of day is not only peaceful but your body burns more fat after just waking up than at any other time of day.
Brisk walking helps you to burn even more calories before breakfast. Moving at a pace of around 3.5 miles per hour is a fast enough pace.
To give you some idea of whether you are walking at a fat-burning pace, imagine you are about to miss a connecting flight and you’re moving quickly through the airport.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a breather though. On the contrary, researchers at Ohio State University study showed that varying your walking speed burns more calories.
A good way to pace your brisk walking program is to start out at your normal walking pace to warm up your limbs – and possibly stimulate your motivation. Brisk walking is easy once you get started.
After a five-minute warm-up walk, pick up the pace and walk as fast as you can. Swing your arms and let your hips swing so that you get into a steady rhythm. Keep your strides short as longer strides put an unnecessary strain on your legs and feet.
Walking up hills, on grass, sand or gravel is also good for weight loss because you have to use more energy. So, are you ready to rumble?