You have worked out hard all week, ate well and now the weekend is here.  Keep the momentum going on the weekend. Let’s take a walk. When done right, a good walk can challenge athletes of all levels. The key is maintaining an appropriate intensity level.

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Do you own a heart rate monitor? If you don’t own a monitor, check your heart rate manually. For accuracy stop walking momentarily to check your pulse. This allows your heart rate to drop. So if you use the manual method, use that number as a guide and consider other factors such as perceived exertion.

You will also need to know your target heart rate range, which for this work out will be 65-75% of your max heart rate. Use the following calculations:

Men:220 – age x 65% = bottom of range
220 – age x 75% = top of range

Women:226 – age x 65% = bottom of range
226 – age x 75% = top of range

The Karvonen Formula can also be used to determine target heart rate but requires that you know your resting heart rate. If you walk regularly, this method is worth the work.

A solid walking workout should last an hour. Warm up for the first 6-8 minutes then spend the next 40 minutes in your target range before you cool down. You might be surprised at how challenging it is to keep the intensity up. You’ll notice that in order to stay in that aerobic range, you have to lengthen your stride and increase your pace to a point that walking doesn’t feel like a leisure activity anymore. For runners and cyclists the increased range of motion at the hip joint can be especially challenging. Runners will find that without the momentum that they are used to, their glutes and hamstrings have to work harder to propel their bodies forward. For you Athletes don’t be surprised if you are sore the next day in unsual places! 🙂

Now a special treat is being offered at Workout Mommy, a contest for a Wii Fit! So get over there and enter!

People say that losing weight is no walk in the park.  When I hear that I think, yeah, that’s the problem. ~Adams