Do you want to lose a few extra pounds for the benefit of your entire body? Then you can start walking to lose weight. You will undoubtedly be motivated to do this by the opportunity not only to lose weight, but also to overcome Negative influence physical inactivity. And also go to fresh air– it’s just nice.
Does walking help you lose weight? How long do you need to walk to see results?
Walking definitely helps you lose weight! The main thing is to comply with all the necessary conditions and perform this exercise correctly.
Like many other physical activities, walking allows you to burn fatty acids, but for a noticeable effect you need to walk for at least an hour and at a certain pace. During such “fitness walks,” a person’s metabolism increases, which helps eliminate harmful substances.
If you are new to this activity, then do not chase speed and do not try to quickly move on to more complex types walking (for example, up the stairs). Walk at a slow speed at first so that the body can adapt to these activities and not experience unnecessary stress.
You need to spend a day this exercise 50 minutes or more. This requirement has a scientific basis: first, during physical activity from a certain walking pace, glycogen begins to be burned, and only after 30 minutes – fatty acids (fats become a source of energy and slowly but surely leave the body).
The result will be noticeable depending on the type of walking: during sports, walking uphill or on stairs, more calories will be burned, all other things being equal. However, average values can be given. On average, in a month of regular exercise (several times a week, lasting at least an hour each), it is possible to lose 5 kg. This is not the final value, since by adjusting your diet and exercising longer, more often, more intensely, you can lose 8 kg in a month.
Which is better: running or walking for weight loss?
Many people believe that only running can give a positive result when exercising for the purpose of losing weight, and walking is just a pleasant pastime that is of little use. But this misconception. This can be confirmed by data from an experiment in which two groups of women participated. The first one was jogging, the second one was walking to lose weight. As a result, it turned out that those ladies who were engaged in walking lost even a little more weight than the representatives of the “competing” group. Studies have shown that walking burns fewer calories than running, but most of them come from fat.
Another advantage of walking is that it is suitable for a physically unprepared person, as well as for overweight people. Not everyone can run 10 km, but completing it at a certain pace is possible and safe. Want to make the exercise more challenging? Then walk uphill or on steps - this will only enhance the effectiveness of your exercises.
It must also be remembered that running for people with more than 20 kg of excess weight is unsafe. The result may be problems with the musculoskeletal system. That's why fat people First, it is advisable to take up walking to lose weight while following a diet. After losing weight and acquiring a certain physical fitness, you can start running (optional).
If you still decide that running is better. Read the article: (rules, technique, results).
Walking rules for weight loss, contraindications
The most effective time of day for walking is morning. It is advisable to perform the exercise before breakfast (you can drink a tonic drink, for example, green tea). This time of day was not chosen by chance: in the morning, glycogen reserves are depleted, so fat will begin to be “destroyed” faster. As a result, you will feel effectiveness faster.
Start with 10 minutes a day, and then increase the time, monitoring your well-being. Fans of walking for weight loss devote 2-3 hours a day to this activity. The optimal frequency of classes is 3 times a week.
When walking, you should not be hunched over, lose your pace, stomp your entire foot or shuffle your feet - there will be no result, you will only gain unnecessary problems with the musculoskeletal system. Keep your back straight, your shoulders back, and with each step, step on your heel and roll onto your toes. At the very beginning, remind yourself that this is physical exercise, so you need to take the details of its implementation seriously, and then everything will become a habit.
Clothing should be comfortable, not restrict movement, natural materials(preferably), which will allow the skin to breathe. Choose high-quality sneakers that are comfortable for your feet and have good cushioning - you shouldn’t skimp on your health.
You need to walk in a certain “fat burning zone” - this is the heart rate range of 65-75% of the maximum.
Let's move from theory to calculations. We use the formula:
220 – human age – resting heart rate
The latter should be measured in the morning immediately after waking up. Find the place on your hand where the pulse beat is most distinct to avoid mistakes, and count the number of beats per minute.
For example, you counted 62 beats, your age is 27 years. Then 220 – 27 – 62 = 131. Based on these data, we calculate the upper and lower bounds:
- lower bound: 131 * 0.65 = 85
- upper bound: 131 * 0.75 = 98
Thus, walk to lose weight while keeping your heart rate in this zone (in our particular case, 85-98 beats per minute).
Walking for weight loss also has contraindications:
- congenital heart defects;
- suffered a heart attack or stroke;
- diabetes.
Walking options for weight loss
Walking for weight loss includes several varieties. Let's look at each of them.
Long walk . This is exactly where you should start practicing walking for weight loss. The speed is low, physical effort is minimal (compared to other varieties that will be discussed below). In one hour of this exercise you can get rid of 180-200 kcal. Very often young mothers who want to lose a few kilograms after childbirth start with it. You can walk at a certain pace in a park or asphalt road.
More intense, and all muscle groups are involved. Just as usual, with each step you roll from heel to toe, finally making an effort - a small push. This type involves a special movement of the arms (they are bent at a right angle at the elbow, making energetic movements back and forth). In the process, you can reach speeds of up to 7 km/h. As a result of doing this, you can burn more than 300 kcal in an hour.
Nordic walking . It cannot be confused with anything, since to perform it you need equipment - special sticks. We take a step with our right foot, pushing off from the ground with a stick in our left hand, and so on.
This variety is especially good for losing weight around the waist and strengthening arm muscles, and these exercises also improve balance and coordination of movements. In an hour of proper exercise, you can lose about 350 kcal (40% more than as a result of regular walking).
Here it is very important to choose the right poles: in addition to the fact that they must be specifically for this type of exercise (and not ski poles), fit comfortably in the hand, have a special strap, you must take a responsible approach to choosing the length.
The length of the poles depends on the person’s preparedness: for people with a slow pace of movement, beginners should use the formula: height * 0.66.
For example, 161 cm * 0.66 = 106 cm - this is the length that a person with a height of 161 cm should choose poles. More trained people can multiply their height by 0.68, and athletes - by 0.70.
Nordic walking for weight loss may seem more difficult than regular walking due to the use of poles. But it is only important to learn how to hold and use them correctly. Then you can appreciate all the benefits of this workout, coupled with the beneficial effects of cardio, training 90% of the muscles of the body and relieving stress. More details in the video:
Walking up the stairs (uphill). This type of exercise is intended for trained people; beginners should not try it right away. It is also important to approach its implementation with great caution for people suffering from various diseases, since the load will be quite serious (compared to other types of walking).
The result of this exercise will be strengthening the muscles of the legs and buttocks, as well as weight loss - in an hour of exercise (ascents and descents at an accelerated pace) you can burn up to 500 kcal.
Good to know! What exercises and diets help you lose weight in your legs: .
Walking in place . Sometimes it is not possible to go outside. In this case, you can work out at home and walk on the spot. The efficiency will be lower than from the varieties described above, but this method should not be neglected. Walking in place with a high hip lift will help burn fat deposits in the hips and abdomen.
If you have a treadmill, you can walk on it . With an average level of training, it is good to perform the following combination of exercises: 2 minutes running + 5 minutes walking (5 approaches). We set the walking speed to 4 km/h.
If you want to increase the load, increase the elevation angle of the track. Thus, at home you can practice walking uphill.
How to “build” walking into your daily life
Walking for weight loss can be combined with walking with friends, on the way to the store, etc. If you need to get to some place located a couple of stops away, you shouldn’t wait for the bus - make a little effort and, leaving home early in comfortable shoes, walk to your destination. This is only good for the body.
Hiking a young mother with a stroller at a certain pace will not only have a beneficial effect on her figure, removing extra centimeters in volume, but will also have a positive effect on the child, since it is good for the baby to be in the fresh air (the active pace of the stroller will not harm him).
If you don't come home with huge heavy bags or aren't wearing high heels, walk up the stairs - don't wait for the elevator.
Results of walking for weight loss: reviews
Marina, 26 years old:“I don't like running. I love walking and swimming much more. Walking not only helps keep all body systems in good shape and gives you energy (especially if you take a contrast shower after exercise), but also helps you lose weight. You just need to not be lazy and walk systematically. Remember that the effect without proper nutrition will be insignificant. If you don’t overeat at night and eat, as you should, balanced food in small portions 5 times a day, then you can really lose 5 kg.”
Elena: 31 years old:“Walking is my main sport in given time. Having tried it once and got the desired result, I don’t want to stop exercising or switch to something else. I started with 30 minutes a day, then increased it to 1.5 hours. Usually it works out 2-3 times a week. Sometimes I practice Scandinavian, but more often I go for long walks. In the first month I lost 3 kg.”
Walking is a great way to lose weight. This method is incredibly convenient and useful. You don’t need to go to the gym and buy special equipment (only poles if you want to do Nordic walking), you don’t need to strain yourself too much, you can do it every day.
Walking- the most natural type of movement for humans. In addition to benefits for the whole body, regular walking can also be used for weight loss. Walking is no less effective than other aerobic exercise, but it is practically safe (unlike, for example, running: running with a lot of excess weight is difficult and often harmful to the spine and joints).
When walking, the body's energy consumption ranges from 200 to 400 kcal per hour, depending on the intensity of the load.
The principle of action and benefits of walking for weight loss
The principle of walking for weight loss is the same as for any aerobic exercise. The meaning of such a load is long-term (at least 40 minutes) work at a certain (“fat-burning”) pulse.
- Calculate maximum heart rate, subtracting your own age from 220 (for example, you are 30 years old, subtract 30 from 220, you get 190, this is your maximum heart rate).
- Calculate the lower limit of the fat burning zone, this is 70% of maximum heart rate(for example, 70% of the maximum 190 is 133).
- Calculate upper bound, 80% (80% of 190 – 152).
The range between the calculated values is the fat burning zone. If enough long time If you keep your heart rate in this range by walking, your body will burn stored fat. In this case, the speed of movement is not very important. Beginners (especially older people) can achieve the desired heart rate by moving at a not very high speed - 4-5 km/h.
You can monitor your pulse using a heart rate monitor or by timing the clock (count the number of beats in 10 or 15 seconds and multiply the resulting number by 6 or 4, respectively). If you use a treadmill for walking, most models of this cardio machine have a built-in heart rate monitor.
How to walk correctly to lose weight: rules, technique
As with any other physical activity, you must follow the rules:
- Gradual increase in load. You don’t need to immediately expect to run a marathon; you can start with 20-30 minutes of slow walking. Each time you can increase the duration of the workout and the pace of walking.
- Systematicity. Since recovery after walking occurs quite quickly, you can exercise daily (although for untrained people, especially older people, it is better to first pause between workouts for 1-2 days and gradually reduce the rest time). Experienced athletes keep a training diary, noting training time, heart rate changes and subjective sensations during and after training. Together with monitoring body weight and volume, this allows you to analyze walking training and find the most effective training regimen for weight loss.
- Correct breathing. You need to breathe evenly, measuredly, through your nose. If there is not enough air and you have to breathe through your mouth, this usually means that the load is too heavy and you need to slow down. The exception is very polluted or cold air, in which case it is better to breathe through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
- The right shoes. Comfortable sneakers or boots that fit your feet well so that they don’t pinch or loosen. Once worn out, your feet can discourage you from walking for a long time. Shoes with high heels, pumps and slippers in in this case are contraindicated, this is a recipe for injury.
- Warm up and cool down. You shouldn’t immediately pick up a fast pace, especially if it’s morning workout. You should walk for 5-10 minutes at a normal pace, then gradually increase the pace. In the same way, you should not sit down to rest immediately after vigorous walking; you need to gradually reduce the pace to normal walking, lowering your heart rate within a few minutes to 80-90 beats per minute.
- Choosing the right place to walk. The ideal option is parks, where training turns into an interesting walk. You should avoid polluted city air, if there are no parks nearby - it is better to exercise in a gym with good ventilation.
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How to burn more calories when walking?
There are several rules and tricks to burn more calories when walking:
- Observe the minimum duration of walking training - at least 45 minutes, preferably an hour.
- Walk in the morning before breakfast or after strength training.
- Change the type of load (interval walking, walking over rough terrain, Nordic poles, etc.).
Walking training should be long
Fat deposits in the body are a kind of “rainy day” reserve. The difficulty in losing weight is precisely in forcing the body to use fat as an energy source, and not other sources (glycogen and muscle fibers).
Before using fat as an energy source, the body uses carbohydrates in the form of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles. Only after glycogen is used up will the body begin to consume the “emergency reserve” - fat, this happens approximately 30 minutes after entering the fat burning zone.
There are two ways to reduce this time:
- Work out from morning until breakfast
- Exercise after training with weights (strength).
After sleep, the body's glycogen reserves are minimal and the body can begin burning fat faster. In addition, many athletes love physical activity in the morning because it gives them energy. But this regime is not suitable for all people; a lot depends on biorhythms and daily routine.
For people who are early risers, getting up and walking in the morning is convenient, but people who are night owls will find it difficult to adapt to such a routine. Not everyone will be able to exercise after strength training; this option is suitable for experienced athletes with sufficient endurance.
Ways to increase the load when walking
Experienced walkers can increase the number of calories they burn in a single workout in several ways:
- Interval training: walk for a minute at a very fast pace, then two or three at a normal pace. This workout increases your metabolic rate and has a positive effect on fat burning.
- Slope: you can walk uphill if the terrain allows, or use an incline on the treadmill.
- Walking with Nordic poles connects the muscles of the arms and back to work, distributing the load on the body more evenly. This allows you to almost double your calorie expenditure.
- Walking on rough terrain usually more energy-intensive than walking on a flat surface. It is especially difficult to walk in deep snow and sticky sand.
Nutrition
There is no point in walking for the purpose of burning fat (or any other aerobic exercise) if you eat too much and eat poor quality food. An extra piece of cake can ruin the benefits of a good walking workout.
If you intend to lose weight by walking, then you should follow the following rules in your diet:
- You need to monitor your total daily caloric intake. The planned number of calories can be calculated using special calculators that take into account weight, gender and intensity physical activity. Even if there is no desire to count and calculate the calories of all the food eaten, it is still worth at least a few days to count the actual amount consumed and compare it with the planned amount; if the discrepancy is 500 calories or more, your diet needs to be seriously reconsidered.
- In addition to quantity, it is worth keeping an eye on quality.. A balanced diet contains proteins, fats and carbohydrates in a certain proportion. It is useful to analyze your diet by calculating the average weight of each of these macronutrients, its proportion of total calories, and then compare it with the recommendations. This information can almost always be found on product labels; you will have to use a kitchen scale. If you don’t want to weigh and count everything, you can first follow the well-known recommendations: limit the consumption of sweets and starchy foods (such products fill the diet with excess fats and carbohydrates), give up mayonnaise and similar fatty foods.
- It is important to drink enough water, at least 30 g per 1 kg of body (for a woman weighing 50 kg - 1.5 liters per day) plus a glass of water before training and a glass after training (but not immediately, but after the pulse returns to normal).
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Contraindications
There are practically no contraindications to walking. Moreover, walking is used for recovery from diseases and their prevention. Provided you follow the rules described above (the most important of which is heart rate control), walking is safe for the body.
Walking is one of the most accessible and easiest ways to lose extra pounds ( subject to nutritional control!). You can do it both on the street and in the gym.
Reviews
Alexey, 41 years old
I’ve been walking to lose weight for three months now. I just walk around the city every day after work, except weekends, for an hour and a half. Bring a smartphone with a program that counts the number of steps and distance traveled. On average it is 6-8 kilometers. During this time, 6 kilograms were lost. And I got to know my city much better.
Maria, 32 years old
A friend recommended walking to me; she likes to lose weight this way. It didn’t suit me very well, it wasted too much time. I went every day for two weeks and quit, group training in the gym is much more interesting, and the result is the same.
Ivan, 28 years old
I read the article carefully, everything is written correctly. I have to go because I had to sell my car. Overall, I don’t regret it at all; in six months I quietly lost 8 kg and the same amount was removed from my waist. Although in bad weather clothes often get wet, and I had to change my sneakers.
Svetlana, 25 years old
A great way to lose weight for new mothers! I myself lost so much weight, put myself in order after giving birth, I couldn’t be happier! Every day, twice, no matter the weather, put the child in the stroller and off you go, briskly! At the same time, I go to the shops to buy milk. In less than two months I regained my shape, and gained a lot, 5 kg during pregnancy. I recommend!
Lilia, 43 years old
In general, by my age I had developed “labor calluses”, and with a height of 160, I weighed more than seventy.
My husband endured it for a long time, but finally his patience ran out and we had a long conversation. We agreed that I needed to get myself in shape, I was already getting ready myself, but something was missing all the time. In general, I was choosing whether to go to the fitness room or something. And then there was a sale, it turned out inexpensive treadmill buy for a house.
At first my husband doubted that I would use it, well, I don’t have such a habit of moving. So he came up with something, he took the sofa that was in front of the TV and took it to the dacha, and instead of it he put a path, if you want to watch TV, get up and go! And I’m walking! Yes, I walk so much that I already like it myself! I dropped to 60 and still have something to work on. And I’ll go to the gym when I’m not ashamed of my figure.
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Walking is awesome! But you shouldn’t make mistakes, and it’s good that everything is described so well in the article! I'm sorry I didn't read it earlier. I decided to lose weight by summer so I could look great on the beach, and I bought sneakers on purpose. Well, off I went... On the first day I walked 10 km, I lost my leg, the next day everything hurt so bad!!! Simply unbearable. I thought I’d have to put off losing weight for a day, but it turned out to be a week. But I achieved my goal! And I also met while walking.
Now I don't worry about being overweight!
This effect can be achieved in just a few months, without diets or exhausting workouts, and most importantly, with the effect retained! It's time for you to change everything!!! The best complex for weight loss of the year!
A story of successful weight loss without dieting
from reader Juliana
How did I end up living like this or how I wasn’t going to lose weight
It took me a relatively short time to get to my previous job – 15-20 minutes. by minibus or trolleybus + 10 min. walk from the bus stop to the office. In the summer, the trip became unbearable - in a stuffy, crowded transport, filled with appropriate aromas, in the company of people huddled closely together, tormented by the heat. And when I decided to walk to work, I didn’t even think about how it would somehow change me and my life. Of course, I heard recommendations to use walking for weight loss, read about the results in reviews real people, but somehow I couldn’t believe it... According to my constitution, I am inclined to be overweight. It takes a little time to gape, and the extra pounds quickly attack. By that time, there was something to fight with - at least 10 kg needed to be lost, because the entire previous year I had not been involved in any sports, and my work was sedentary. However, at that moment I in no way connected the desire to lose weight with the fact that one day in mid-May I decided to walk to work and back. Hearing about my intention, my husband only smiled sarcastically: “Can you handle it? About 7 km one way." “I’ll master it,” I said confidently, not at all sure that I could really master it.
Unexpected results
Although I had not thought about using walking to lose weight, the results were not long in coming. From the very first day of my walks, I walked both ways. During the entire first week, my body ached, not only my legs, but also my back, buttocks, and even in my abdominal area, just like after a full workout in the gym. I didn’t walk very fast, but not slowly either – at a normal pace, choosing the shade. In order to get from home to work, it took me a little over an hour of time (1 hour and 10-15 minutes). About a month and a half after I started walking, I met with relatives whom I had not seen for about 2 months, and heard addressed to me: “You’ve lost a little weight.” My psyche kindly allowed me to ignore the word “a little,” but the word “lost weight” caused me to associate it with my walks. I weighed myself and actually lost a little weight – I lost about 4 kg, but I didn’t expect such a result. By the end of the second month of walking, things began to fit me noticeably looser.
It's fun to walk together...
In the third month, my friend joined me. And after her, after listening to our reviews and seeing the results of losing weight from walking, a couple more employees. My walks have become more fun. By this time, I had already decided to treat walking as an interesting sport, so I paid attention to my diet - I tried to exclude fried, high-calorie foods, replacing them with vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy products. I walked all summer and almost all of September, with the exception of two weeks of vacation. At the end of September it rained a lot, and I had to stop my walks with a result of -14 kg in 4 months. It may not be as much as we sometimes want, but such weight loss does not stress the body, and besides, walking is good for the heart. I think if I had corrected my diet from the very beginning, the result would have been more noticeable. Tips for those who want to achieve results from walking to lose weight in the article: From the very beginning, during my walks, on approximately the same stretch of road, every morning I met the same man walking towards me (apparently, he was also a lover of walking). A month and a half later, we started saying hello. It's a small thing, but nice. With the advent of autumn, I had to look for other ways to resist extra pounds, but that, as they say, is a completely different story. More interesting stories about losing weight: "
Traditionally, improving the quality of life is associated with such benefits of civilization as personal or public transport, which minimize time losses associated with everyday worries. But total motorization, in addition to the obvious benefits, brings equally serious negative consequences, which doctors tend to call physical inactivity. Simply put, people began to walk many times less, and a predominantly sedentary lifestyle became the reason why 70% of the population has problems with excess weight. In this article we will tell you whether it is possible to lose weight by walking, what loads will be sufficient for effective weight loss, what types of walking should be preferred depending on age and health status.
If you were transported to the distant past, you would be very surprised not to meet overtly fat people there. Heavy physical work and lack of overeating do not contribute to fat deposition. Since time machines have not yet been invented, the same effect can be observed today in many countries with weak economies and low standards of living. On the contrary, high-calorie foods and insufficient physical activity lead to the body's energy balance being disrupted: we take in more calories than we expend, and our body is programmed by evolution in such a way as to “store” these excesses in reserve, and not remove them as waste products.
Get rid of extra calories losing weight by walking is quite possible, but this requires, firstly, regular exercise, and secondly, you need to limit the uncontrolled consumption of high-calorie foods. In other words, you should ensure that you burn off excess calories. Daily requirement in this case, it is calculated using special formulas (for example, Harris-Benedict or Mifflin-San Geor), taking into account a person’s height, weight, age and some other parameters.
You can find out how much you actually consume from food calorie tables. Finding them online is also easy. This information will be enough to calculate how much you need to walk a day to lose weight.
To reset one extra kilos it is necessary to burn approximately 7000-8000 kilocalories, while the average daily norm consumption is 2000-3000 kcal.
Is walking good for losing weight?
Many people are convinced that the effectiveness of walking as a means of losing weight is low and is noticeably inferior to exercise in a fitness club or gym. This is partly true, but more intense exercise is not always good for the body. Walking is a natural state For homo sapiens, providing a complex positive effect on a person: strengthening the cardiovascular system, increasing body tone, stimulating metabolism through muscle activity.
Does walking help you lose weight faster than running? You will be surprised by the research results: if running is really more effective in terms of the number of calories burned (550 versus 350 kcal per hour, respectively), then By percentage running is already inferior to lost fat mass (50% versus 65%). However, for older people and those whose weight is much higher than normal, running as a means of losing weight is obviously unacceptable. Walking is, without exaggeration, the most democratic way to lose weight, since it is not contraindicated even for heart patients, people suffering from respiratory, kidney failure and diabetes. Anyone unprepared a person is able to cover 10-20 km in a day.
How much should you walk a day to lose weight?
Before you start walking as a means of losing weight, you should know: the fat burning process starts only after an hour of continuous walking, during which the body uses the resources that were obtained during food intake. To calculate how much you need to walk a day to lose weight, you should control another important factor: heart rate. It should be within 50-70% of the maximum, calculated using the following simplified formula:
220 – your age – 5 (for women) = maximum heart rate.
If you learn to walk at the right pace, fat burning will occur at the fastest pace. How much you need to walk a day to lose weight depends on your goals: it’s one thing when you need to lose 5-8 kg, and quite another when you need to lose 30 or more. In any case, you should not focus on quick results: to lose 1 kilogram, you will have to walk more than 50-80 km, which, of course, is unrealistic. But if you lose 100 grams every day, walking at least 10 kilometers, then in a month you will get 3 kg, in six months - about 20. And these are already quite tangible results. The main thing is regularity of classes and the understanding that regaining lost pounds is much faster.
If you're satisfied burning 30-50 grams of fat daily, when answering the question of how much walking you need to do to lose weight, you need to take into account that the breakdown of fats will begin after the body uses up all the glycogen accumulated in the liver, and for this will require continuous walking for approximately 60 minutes. And if you intend to walk five kilometers a day, a speed of 5 km/h is not enough to put the body into fat burning mode: you need to increase either the distance or the speed.
How do walking and diet fit together?
Is it possible to observe a positive effect from walking? if significantly exceed daily norm calories consumed from food? The simplest calculations show that no. Even for a relatively minor weight loss, you need at least an hour and a half of exercise, and if you cannot imagine your life without sweets and fatty foods, you will have to spend most of your time walking. In other words, if you don't reduce the calories in your food, you will have to walk from morning to evening. It is doubtful that you are ready for such feats. In other words, if you don't reduce the calories in your food, you will have to walk for a very long time. Diets, according to many experts, are also not a panacea, since you won’t be on a diet forever. Moreover, in 95% of cases you will quickly reach your previous weight levels and even exceed them. Balanced diet- secret of success. Set a goal to stay within a certain daily calorie intake limit. However, you don’t have to give up your favorite foods: it is enough to calculate the weight of portions in such a way as not to go beyond the calculated indicator. At first, to suppress hunger, you can choose foods that are low in calories, but eat large portions. Once your body gets used to it, you can control your caloric intake intuitively, without using scales or tables.
How much do you need to walk to lose weight?
The above calculations do not take into account the fact that you can walk in different ways: using a treadmill, walking up stairs or downhill, the Scandinavian method, walking at a fast pace or at a leisurely pace. Even walking in place can bring the desired effect. Let's consider the energy efficiency of all of the above walking methods.
Walking at a medium pace
The most popular way to burn extra calories, especially for those categories of the population who are not able to engage in other types of physical activity. An hour and a half walk at a speed of about 5 km/h will allow you to spend 100-200 kcal, and this is already a lot. Such walking has practically no contraindications and, in addition to the effect of losing excess weight, allows you to improve the overall tone of the body.
Race walking for weight loss
The race walking technique involves the use of a special algorithm that uses many muscle groups. Each step begins with the heel resting and ends with the body weight transferring to the toe. The leg should be straight at this moment. Active work with arms bent at the elbows is also characteristic feature race walking. You need to move in short and frequent steps at speeds up to 8 km/h. This type of walking, which is more energy-consuming, allows you to burn up to 300-350 kcal.
Effective walking on stairs for weight loss
One of the most effective techniques often used by professional athletes. For people with poor health, such training is contraindicated. Climbing flights of stairs at speed 75 steps per minute, in one hour you can spend up to 500 kcal. In this case, it is necessary to monitor your pulse and alternate ascents with descents - the latter are less tiring and allow you to get a break.
Nordic walking
Unlike walking up stairs, moving with ski poles has virtually no contraindications, but due to the involvement of most muscle groups in the process, it allows you to burn approximately one and a half times more calories than with normal walking ( up to 400 kcal per hour and a half workout). The benefits for losing weight when skiing in winter are comparable to the loads when.
Walking on a treadmill for weight loss
Using a home exercise machine helps those who do not have the opportunity to take walks around the city (in megacities with high content harmful exhaust emissions and the lack of places for proper training, this problem is really relevant).
Wherein burning calories will happen faster if you use several important advice :
- warm up your body before starting classes short warm-up (walking at a speed of 4-5 km/h for 5 minutes);
- It is advisable to change the working rhythm(increase or decrease) every 10-15 minutes;
- if you need to increase the walking intensity, you can simply raise the track 5-10 degrees;
- interval training(two minutes of jogging followed by five minutes of walking) allows you to burn up to an additional 10-20% of calories.
The presence of a digital display makes it easier to control your heart rate, distance traveled and calories burned.
Walking in place for weight loss at home
This option, although the least effective, can also be used when it is not possible to go outside. To burn calories more actively, you need to use arm movements, and even better, raise your knees high. By the way, this method of walking is often used as a warm-up before starting training in many sports.
Such an exotic method of transportation as walking on your knees for weight loss is very common in some Asian countries, but can hardly be recommended as the main means of getting rid of excess calories for many categories of people.
Some important tips on how to walk correctly to lose weight:
- the best time for training is morning when the body, in the presence of prolonged stress, adjusts to a more intense metabolism, which has a positive effect on overall performance and contributes to greater calorie consumption when doing everyday activities;
- If you are not sure whether you can lose weight by walking without warming up, the answer will be yes, but when using intensive methods(walking stairs, race walking) warm-up is a must training process;
- walking route follows choose in places remote from highways and with relatively little pedestrian traffic (parks, squares, strips of embankments of reservoirs, etc.), while it is desirable that the terrain is not perfectly flat;
- any physical activity is accompanied by intensive consumption of water reserves by the body, therefore before walking, be sure to drink 200-400 ml of water.
You can drink while walking!
We hope the information presented will help you get answers to the question of how to lose weight by walking, what loads and for what duration should be used to achieve the best result.
Video about the optimal walking mode for weight loss
Over one year old
Regular walks are your chance to get a slim figure. Without a fitness card, complex workouts and expensive additional equipment.
For every person, it is as commonplace as eating or sleeping. It’s so simple that we don’t consider it a fitness workout... And yet walking can solve the problem of physical inactivity of a typical city dweller and make each of us a little slimmer and healthier. “During walking, lung ventilation and blood circulation increase, oxygen saturation of tissues improves, and the heart and blood vessels are strengthened,” says SVETLANA VEPRINTSEVA, leading personal trainer at the TERRASPORT Copernicus fitness center. — Due to the contraction of the calf muscles, blood stagnation in the veins of the lower leg is reduced. This training is useful for women with a predisposition to varicose veins. Walking at a moderate to brisk pace has also been proven to strengthen bones and joints. protecting against osteoporosis ». This type fitness is the most accessible of all, this the simplest way overcome laziness and start moving in order to adapt to training and prepare the muscles and ligamentous apparatus, as well as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems for more serious loads, in particular for running.
What to choose: walking or running?
Walking
- Places higher demands on ligaments, spinal discs, and menisci.
- Better speeds up metabolism, it's more quick way burning fats and calories.
- Works all the muscles of the body more actively, including the upper body.
- Legs lose weight faster, but under certain conditions they can be pumped up.
- Provides a greater load on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, which means it increases endurance better than walking.
- When training outdoors, the requirements for the route are more stringent: it is not advisable to run on asphalt and other hard surfaces.
Beginners who are planning to start running are advised to walk for the first 6-8 weeks, making the task more difficult over and over again. "Move with higher speed, change the route (or program if you exercise on a treadmill) and go up the hill, advises ANDREY ZHUKOV, head of outdoor programs at the World Class network of fitness clubs. - Or walk over rough terrain, on sand, on soft soil. This way you will begin to load your muscles differently, make them work harder and pump them up better.” Walking- the safest form of fitness. But there are also contraindications for it. These include recent injuries, especially to the ankle and knee joints (in this case it is better to pedal a bicycle ergometer). And heart disease: in this case, walking at a fast pace (heart rate over 140 beats per minute) can be dangerous.
To a slim figure - step by step
We usually perceive walking as something not entirely serious. Just a walk, the same preparation for running, maximum - warm-up: 10 minutes on the treadmill before the main fitness class. However, it can also be an independent cardio workout, which will force the cardiovascular system to work hard and burn calories and fat. It all depends on the intensity of the load and heart rate. For optimal combustion calories, the training heart rate (HR) should be 65-75% of maximum. To calculate it, use the formula: (220 minus age) x 0.65-0.75. For a 25-year-old girl it will be 126-146 beats per minute. If, when walking, your pulse is in this “corridor”, we can talk about burning calories; if it doesn’t reach it, we can talk about training the heart. To add intensity, start walking uphill (it's easy on a treadmill) and pick up the pace. Please note that to activate lipid metabolism you will have to walk for quite a long time. The fat burning process will begin no earlier than half an hour later. “And the specialists of the All-Russian Research Institute physical culture and sports, they are generally advised to give yourself two-hour low-intensity exercise, says Andrei Zhukov. “You should walk at such a pace that your breathing is not interrupted by walking and you are able to talk calmly.” STRONG STROKE However, walking is not only a cardio workout, but also a way to work the muscles of the lower body. “It improves the shape of the hips (especially the front surface and knee area), buttocks, and calf muscles,” says Svetlana Veprintseva. — Fast walk gives them a beautiful relief, since the muscles are toned and fat deposits are reduced. And unlike fast running (speed more than 10 km/h), which can lead to an increase in muscle mass, does not spoil the shape of the legs, making them only more slender and graceful. The oblique abdominal muscles are also involved in the work, as a result of which fat is removed from the sides and the waist becomes thinner, if you do not forget to work with your hands. If you walk on a treadmill in the gym, try not to hold your hands on the console, move them back and forth.” To better work your buttocks, choose walking on rough terrain or uphill. If you want to use the muscles of the shoulder girdle - Nordic, this “northern” version perfectly strengthens the back and triceps. And to add a power element to the usual movement on the plain, “weave” into it strength exercises with your own body weight, shock absorber tape, and benches. “First you walk for 15 minutes, then stop to do lunges or, for example, reverse push-ups from a bench,” explains Andrey Zhukov. — Having completed a full set (at least 15 repetitions), move the same amount or until the next bench. How often you stop and how much exercise you do will ultimately depend on whether your goal is strength training or cardio." One of best exercises for those who walk, lunges. It is used as a developmental drug and in the training of track and field athletes. Perform them to pump up your legs, and as you move: stop every 10-15 minutes and do 30-50 lunges. 5 TIPS to get the most out of your walk: 1. Before walking (especially at a fast pace) warm up. Do stretching exercises, paying attention to your hips, knee joints and ankle. 2.Control the pace. To make sure you're moving at least moderately fast, check your pedometer: you should be walking at least 4,000 steps in half an hour (or more than 3 kilometers if you don't have one). 3. Record your achievements. Write down how many kilometers you have walked every day or write down the number of steps from your pedometer. Try to beat yesterday's record every time! Research from Loughborough University in England shows that in this case, you will tend to increase the number of steps taken by 10%... Which means burning more and more calories! 4. Go outside! Women who prefer to exercise outdoors get much more pleasure from their walks and are less likely to give them up, confirms research from Ohio State University. 5. Plan your route. Research shows that people who expect in advance that they will have to walk not only on flat terrain, but also uphill, endure this climb much easier than those who are not prepared for it. Remember the rule! As long as you walk at a leisurely pace, you can do this at least every day. But if walking has become a cardio workout, fit it into your fitness schedule, leaving three to four “walks” per week. TRAFFIC RULES To get the most out of walking, you need to practice technique. “The position of the body should be vertical (when climbing uphill, we lean forward slightly),” says Andrey Zhukov. - Look at the road 10-20 steps ahead of you. The movement of the leg starts from the hip and ends on an imaginary horizontal line “drawn” through the center of your body: with each step, place your feet on it, gently rolling from heel to toe. In this case, the pelvis rotates around a vertical axis, and the shoulders proper operation hands are motionless. Make sure that your elbows are close enough to your body and that your hands do not cross the imaginary line drawn across the bridge of your nose.” It is the hands that set the pace when walking. Start moving them faster, and your legs will reflexively speed up your pace. If you need to go faster, don't just pull your leg forward, but also push harder with your supporting leg. The movement should be forward and remain creeping. TYPICAL ERRORS These “little things” will reduce the effectiveness of your training:
- You look at your feet, lean forward, slouch, making it difficult for yourself to breathe.
- You rock back and forth, have poor centering, and your back will soon tire.
- You “bounce” with each step, moving upward rather than forward.
STEP MARCH! Want to experience the benefits of walking in practice? Developed by JANINE DETZ, Fitness Director at American SHAPE, this simple workout will transform your body, taking it from a sluggish "oh-ho-ho" to an energetic "wow!" In it, she emphasized two factors: speed and movement uphill, so that you get results faster. “You’ll see them in just a month,” Janine promises, “if you follow simple rules. First, move at a high pace all the time: you should feel like you are walking so fast that it would be easier to break into a run. Secondly, move on hills: this will increase your calorie burn by 50%.” HOW IT WORKS Do Walk 1 three times a week and Walk 2 twice a week. When working out on a treadmill, at a minimum pace, walk at a speed of 4.8 km/h, at an average pace - 5.5-6.4 km/h, at a maximum pace - 7-8 km/h. If you are training outside, your minimum speed will be as if you were walking on shopping center, medium - as if you are in a hurry to an appointment, and at maximum it will become difficult for you to breathe. Use the recommended distance to calculate your route. However, the distance you ultimately travel will depend on your speed. Always exercise for at least the recommended time. And if there are no hills where you walk, walk on steps. REDUCING WEIGHT: YOUR PLAN IS THE MAXIMUM Conduct the first workout on days when you plan to attend other classes at the fitness club, the second - when you have time to walk longer. WALK #1: ENERGY WALK Time: 30 minutes // Distance: 4-5 km // Calorie consumption: 200-250 *
WALK #2: FAT BURNING Time: 60 minutes // Distance: 5.5-7.5 km // Calorie consumption: 350-400
IT'S FUN TO WALK TOGETHER Take these devices for a walk and you will lose weight even faster! Pedometer. We have already mentioned that by counting your steps, he will motivate you to new feats. Moreover, modern models can handle the counting regardless of whether you put them in your pocket, purse, or hang them on your belt. They will show the distance, the number of calories burned, and total number steps, and separately - slow and fast, so you can divide them into a regular walk and a training walk. Sticks, reminiscent of ski boots, but designed specifically for walking, incredibly popular in Europe and sold today in Russian stores. With them, you will burn 67% more calories than with regular walking, says a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. “And it’s not at all difficult to choose them by height,” says Andrey Zhukov. “When the stick hits the ground, your fist should be in line with your elbow and your forearm parallel to the floor.” Weights. On your belt or in your backpack, but not on your legs or arms: otherwise your posture will be disrupted. An additional load of 2-4 kg increases the heart rate by 20% and increases the number of calories burned. The total weight of weights should not be more than 10% of body weight.