Fit Factor: Walking yourself thin

I'm a walker. I walk anywhere I can in a reasonable amount of time -- the store, the bank, downtown to meet my friends for lunch. I walk for a few reasons -- because I love the outdoors, because I love the feeling of being active but not in pain, because I love the city scenery and because I love having time alone with my thoughts. During some stressful and upsetting times in my life, walking has helped calm me, and helped me come to terms with what was going on in my life. If walking was the only exercise I had to do for the rest of my life, I would be fine with that. Now, if I could only located to a city where I could walk comfortably year-round ...

Here's the thing about walking -- while it seems like walking is routine and not really 'exercise', it can be. A walking program can help you lose weight and get fit. It's a cheap, easy and convenient way to get in your workouts from anywhere. All you need are some good shoes and some water.

Here are some key components to a a successful walking workout:

• Challenge yourself: For years, I spent an hour every day walking home from work and while it was nice to get outside, I didn't notice any sweeping changes in my weight or body like I expected to. But when I think about it now, I realize why -- my route was completely flat and I usually spent my walk chatting with a friend or taking in the scenery instead of trying to get my heart rate up. So don't make the same mistake -- take the route with the most hills and walk fast. Make sure to gt the blood flowing and don't slow down until you break a sweat.
  
• Do intervals: While walking, alternate between super speedy and strolling. This will burn more calories and ensure that you don't need to stop to rest -- active resting is where it's at.
  
• Mix it up: Your body can get use to any walking routine. You need to it differently every now and then. For a full-body workout, consider stopping every now and then and doing some additional exercises like lunges or squats. You might look a bit funny so plan to hit up a few treed parks if you're worried about it.
  
• Consider add-ons: Do what you have to to keep your workout fun and challenging. Want to tone up? Perhaps you can add some wrist of ankle weights to your routine. Also? Adding some walking poles to the routine can burn 20-45% more calories. Other things to considering investing in are an iPod to keep you motivated, which you should fill with songs that have a quick beat -- you can pace yourself to it. Another great investment is a pedometer -- you can measure your strides and make sure your getting enough.
  

Interested? You can find guidelines to great walking workouts here, here and here. Or, if you have your own tips for shedding pounds and getting fit through walking, please share!