Walking and exercise

There's just something about walking

Whether it's a walk on the beach, through a park or neighborhood, or even laps in an indoor facility, walking offers far more benefits than burning calories.

Many years ago when I was in college and taking overloads, I regularly walked four miles a day to reduce the stress of taking additional classes. Back in those days, I had no need for dieting or burning calories, but I was well aware of  the benefits of walking as a stress reliever.

Years later, when I did need to burn calories, I joined a fitness center and regularly attended several fitness classes. One of the fitness classes and my favorite, kick boxing, was also a stress reliever for me. During that time, I rarely went for walk, thinking all my fitness needs were met in classes.

Three years ago I returned to a regular schedule of walking 4-5 miles a day five days a week. I found these walks to be invigorating and relaxing. 

Some days, I would listen to a favorite play list on my phone. Listening to music I loved, and much of which was associated with happy memories, added to the enjoyment of walking for an hour or so. 

Other days, I just walked and allowed myself to "get lost" in my own thoughts. Sometimes these thoughts would wander to concerns I had prayed about earlier in the day. During these "wanderings of thoughts," occasionally, clarity would suddenly appear, and I knew just what to do about these concerns. 

When clarity didn't appear, I would resume praying while I walked, and found that lightened and eased the concerned, while I waited on God.

The physcial benefits of walking are numerous and most are well known. Fresh air, sunshine and reveling in the beauty of nature add more benefits and enjoyment to this simple and inexpensive way to exercise.

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Computing your walking pace

The stopwatch on an iPhone
can be used to time laps walked
 and compute the pace of the walk.

Most walkers can figure out the distance they are walking but may wonder about the speed of their walks. It is the speed that determines how many calories are burned.

Unless there are physical limitations, regular walking usually has a natural progression to a faster pace. When I returned to walking three years, at 180 pounds, my fast gait was 18-minute miles or 3 miles per hour. 

Gradually, during that first year, my pace improved to 17-minute, 16-minute, and 15-minute miles. During the second year, my pace increased to 14-minutes and I added a light jog to part of my laps. And during the third year, some of my miles with light running were at 13 minutes. 

Not all my walks are at the fastest pace. It depends on where I'm walking. At one of the indoor facilities where I walk during freezing temperatures or rainy days, running is not allowed, so I usually walk 15-minute miles there. I don't push myself to walk a certain pace and don't feel bad if I walk slower some days. 

But it is helpful to know the pace you are walking in order to accurately log your exercise. Pedometers and apps can provide this information. I don't use a pedometer or app. I use the stopwatch on my iPhone to time my laps and compute the pace from my laps. There is an easy formula to do this: divide the minutes of each mile into 60 to get mph.

 For instance, an 18-minute mile divided into 60 would be rounded to 3 mph. If you go to Exercise in the Lose It app, you will find 3 mph in the moderate level, clicking on that and adding the time you walked will determine the total calories burned for that walk. 

Remember: The number of calories burned during a walk is contingent on your current Lose It goals. If you are on maintenance, you will get the maximum calories burned, according to your weight and age. If you are still losing weight, the number will slightly decrease, according to your goal.

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Exercising for strength, core and balance

Three years ago, when I began seeing consistent weight-loss each week, I added to my walking a few exercises I had learned to do in fitness classes. 

I picked out five or six exercises and another five or six stretches to work on strength, core and balance. I've stayed pretty much with the same exercises and stretches. 

Earlier this year, I began reading about planks and couldn't remember if I had ever done one in a class. After trying one, I decided if I had done them before, it was long ago and very sporadic. But I have added a plank to my exercise. 

I don't enjoy doing these exercises and stretches, but I do them for the same reason I brush and floss my teeth. I need to do them.

It takes about 10-15 minutes to do these exercises and stretches, and I usually do them about twice a week. It's been sufficient in adding and toning muscle. Although, it may seem like a small amount of time, doing these exercises week after week, month after month and now year after year, produces continuing results.

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