I’ve been a personal trainer in Willow Glen for over 25 years. In those 25 years I’ve suggested a lot of strength training and interval cardio workouts for my clients, because most of my clients come to me to help them get rid of unwanted body fat. I’ve always felt that “plain old walking”, while valuable as a stress reducer, just wasn’t enough to improve someone’s fitness level.
I’m going to change my tune on this. Sort of. I think walking can be part of a great fat loss program. I think we need to establish how and where walking fits into a fat loss program, though.
First, let’s talk about the general benefits of walking:
- Walking is an incredible form of exercise that can be carried out by most people.
- It’s a low impact workout which carries a very low risk of injury.
- It is an activity that requires no equipment (just good shoes, really!).
- Walking is a great “entry” form of exercise for a new exerciser.
- Regular walking can help improve some health markers such as blood pressure and blood glucose.
Now, let’s move on to how walking can be a valuable part of a fat loss program. Because walking is low impact, it’s a great form of recovery exercise in between the high intensity interval workouts I design for my clients. It’s also a great form of recovery in between strength training days. So, for my money, walking is the last piece of the fat loss puzzle. Walking is the longer, lower intensity cardio exercise that you can do on your off days. You don’t work out as hard, but you go for a longer time. For me, this is where walking for fat loss is best used.
So, here’s my breakdown of where our efforts lie for the best fat loss program:
Nutrition first, strength training second, intervals third and finally …..walking.
If you’ve been walking for awhile, you may want to try walking hills on occasion. If you live near a hilly area, your basic fitness walk may turn into an interval training session as you huff and puff up the hills!
Whether fat loss is your goal, or you’re simply wanting to feel better, lace up your shoes and get yourself out for a walk. It’s a solid way to support your fat loss efforts!
Committed to your success,
Becky