Login | April 29, 2024
It’s more than 10,000 steps
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: March 25, 2024
Walking has gotten to be a pretty popular activity over the past several years, especially on the heels of the 10,000 steps thesis. That’s the premise which states that attaining 10,000 steps (app. five miles) a day is a great benchmark to shoot for when trying to attain an appreciable level of cardiovascular fitness and/or weight loss. Yet missing from this oft touted theory is a crucial component that turns out to be more integral to a successful walking program than just the number of steps covered per walking session. I’m talking about intensity.
Now before I launch into this intensity topic, there’s an addendum here: If you’re walking sessions are purely for general wellness and mental wellbeing, or are less vigorous due to a doctor’s recommendations, then intensity shouldn’t be an issue.
But if you’re physically capable and mentally willing, you’ll probably want to consider incorporating intensity into your walking workouts because it has a massive impact on cardiovascular fitness as well as caloric burn - and most exercise specialists will tell you such. For instance, 2-3 miles of moderate to vigorous uphill walking could be more beneficial for improving cardiac output and contributing to caloric burn than a casual walk of 10,000 steps on the flats. So remember, if your goal is to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and/or loose weight via walking, you absolutely need to take into account the intensity of your efforts.
And when it comes to incorporating intensity into your walks, well, there’s plenty of different ways to manipulate this component such that you can keep your walking workouts interesting as well as invigorating. So let’s take a look at several ways with which to employ intensity.
Speed
Increasing walking speed is the simplest way to increase intensity. And you can monitor these speed increases with the use of a heart rate/gps monitor - as HR shows your physical effort while gps shows distance covered and mph. If you don’t have one of these tracking devices then simply use the talk test: The faster you walk the less you can carry on a normal conversation. That’s because your breathing cadence will interrupt your talkability - to a lesser extent with minor increases in speed, and to a greater extent with larger increases in speed.
Weight
Adding weight to your body will easily increase the intensity level. And this increase in weight can be accomplished via hand weights, vests, backpacks, etc. Take note though, when you add weight, do so incrementally so your body has time to adapt without incurring overuse issues.
Intervals
Intervals differ greatly from just increasing the general speed because they can be performed at a much higher intensity than could be maintained during an entirety walk. For instance a walk could entail five minutes at a conversational pace followed by five minutes at a vigorous walking pace where talkability is stunted. Three to four sets of this scenario could provide 15-20 min of a vigorous walking pace.
Vertical
Hills, hills, hills. Walking intensity will automatically rise, sometimes through the roof, when performed on hills. What’s more, if general speed increases, weights and or intervals are incorporated into the hill walking, you’ll get an even bigger bang for your walking buck.
Unstable Surfaces
Consider doing walks off solid surfaces. Walking on earthen trails with rocks and roots, on gravel roads with uneven tread way and on undulating stretches of grass and field force the body to work harder. That's because unstable “off roading” surfaces require the nervous system to recruit additional muscle fibers in the legs, hips, and trunk to maintain balance and stability.
Par Course Walks
By incorporating a series of bodyweight exercises - squats, lunges, push-ups, pull-ups and dips - into your walks you can get in a strength workout while at the same time keeping the intensity of your walk at a higher than normal level.
As you can see, adding intensity to your walks is a great way to build a stronger, healthier heart as well burn more calories. And the fringe benefit here is that these intensity variations help to keep those walking workouts fresh, interesting and motivating.