So close to the end of the four weeks of walking to which we’ve committed, it can be all too easy to figure that “it won’t hurt to skip a day” or tempting to just take a quick stroll around the block…
Today’s program calls for a short walk — it’s no more than half an hour, including the warm-up and cool-down stroll along at a gentle pace — so I’m going to suggest just taking a few minutes today to read up on all the good things that walking can do for your body and your health — and how to get the most benefits out of the exercise program.
5 minute warm-up
20 minutes walk at level 6
5 minute cool-down
stretching
Lee Terpening’s walking course on Suite101 is a gold mine of information for anyone who’s doing a walking program, or think about getting into a regular habit of walking for weight loss or for general health and fitness.
This course will review the underlying principles considered in developing any fitness program and show you how to use these principles to best meet your own goals.
You will learn how variables such as frequency, intensity and duration apply to walking and also about how to evaluate progress and set new goals.
We will also review other aspects to consider such as finding the right shoes, being safe, and dealing with different kinds of weather and road conditions.
The free online course ends with a section about setting goals, measuring results, and devloping strategies for keeping up the motivation to keep going with your walking program.
Heading into Fall, with a long dark Canadian winter loomng on the horizon, I find it helpful to be reminded that walking will do good things for the mind and the spirit, as well as the heart, lungs, and muscles.