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a walking routine It might sound simple: lace up your sneakers and… walk, right?
While yes, getting out there and hitting the pavement is a great way to start taking steps toward your health goals, just as with any form of exercise, having a measurement to track progress is key to continued growth.
Tracking progress is useful for many reasons. It allows you to easily set realistic and achievable goals, see if your fitness is improving, and feel accomplished when comparing your daily, monthly and yearly progress.
It also helps in adjusting the action plan needed to achieve your goals and see results more effectively. Without tracking, there would be no way of knowing when to change program intensity, duration, or difficulty to encourage further progress.
A lack of traceability can stabilize a physique, while traceability can encourage results.
But what exactly should you track and when Walking is the main form of exercise? Is it better to walk a certain distance, time, or number of steps?
Walked minutes tracking benefits
walk him Proven health benefits Such as aiding in weight loss, relieving joint pain, and improving immune function. To get those amazing health benefits, it is recommended to walk at least 30 minutes at a brisk pace.
One of the reasons I love tracking your walk over time is that you can clearly see your fitness improvement. If you start at 5 minutes a day, you may find that after a week you go through those 5 minutes more easily, walk farther during those 5 minutes, and you may feel physically ready to walk even longer! Then you can work up to 10 minutes a day, and slowly build up from there. As you focus on the time you spend walking, you will also increase your speed, distance, and number of steps as a byproduct.
If walking for 30 minutes in a row proves to be challenging, start with ten-minute increments, three times a day. Or start with just 10-15 minutes a day, and slowly increase your walking time from there until you reach 30 minutes (or more!).
Benefits of tracking steps while walking
Many personal trainers give their clients a goal Hitting 10,000 steps a day. This popular daily step goal can build accountability and allow for work to be done throughout the day, as opposed to requiring a significant portion of the time spent on exercise.
studies They suggested that keeping track of your steps leads to a more active lifestyle that reduces the development of certain health problems. Achieving a step goal creates a sense of accomplishment. It also serves as an incentive to move more throughout the day because every step you take counts. For those with a competitive streak, keeping that specific number in mind can be a very effective motivation technique. a member Start the TODAY Walking Club She even walked up and down the 10-foot hallway to get the rest of her steps before bed!
However, it is important to note that daily steps are not a one-size-fits-all approach. Studies have shown that it is possible to reap the benefits of walking with fewer steps than the standard 10,000 per day. You should start with an achievable goal step and be sure to reevaluate your goal every now and then, especially if you’ve always been frustrated with coming up with a short path. One of my clients had set her goal at 10,000 steps per day, but consistently failed at 8,000 steps. She advised her to reduce her goal to 7500 so that she could feel successful at the end of the day, instead of going to bed feeling defeated. Once I did that for two weeks, I consistently exceeded 7,500 steps and hit 10,000 steps regularly!
Walked mileage tracking benefits
For those who don’t have a step tracker or who want to have a specific distance to aim for, mileage tracking can be an excellent way to get your steps back.
Walking five miles equals about 10,000 steps, which is a great goal for those looking to establish an active, healthy lifestyle. But this is just a goal. Any amount of walking is better than nothing!
It can also provide a nice way to separate your phone from trackers while walking. If you know that one loop around the block equals one mile, then five rounds around the block equals five miles and about 10,000 steps. No matter how long you take (some days you may be slower or faster than others) or how many steps you take (some days you may take longer steps than others), you know without a doubt that you have come a certain distance, which can feel very fulfilling. .
Again, it is important to regularly reevaluate and adjust your distance goal to continue seeing progress. When start your hiking journey, Start with one mile or even half a mile. If that’s challenging enough, stick to that distance for a week or two. Next, increase your target mileage by another half mile. Over time, you should notice the distance becoming easier to complete, and see the distance you walk steadily increasing.
What is the best way to track when walking in order to lose weight?
In my professional experience, walking for a set number of minutes each day proves to be very beneficial Weight loss is your goal. This is for two reasons. First, be sure to set aside some amount of walking time for exercise, as opposed to accumulating steps throughout the day as you go about your daily life. This can also be Mental health benefits You will have a dedicated time each day to de-stress and focus only on walking. Our mental health plays a huge role in successful weight loss. Second, by walking for a set amount of time, you can easily track progress and push yourself more as you get leaner, versus restricting yourself to a certain number of steps or miles.
While stepping into steps is very beneficial for overall health, keeping track of the steps you take throughout the day, such as walking to the bathroom, walking to the refrigerator, walking to and from your car in the grocery store parking lot, etc., can sometimes provide a misstep. feeling energetic Navigating throughout the day is great, but it’s important to make time for it Cardiovascular exercise This lifts your heart. I’ve seen tiered goals dampen this by making people think they don’t need to exercise because they’re hitting a certain number of steps during the day. And while tracking miles is exciting and can give you a clear path to walk, if you don’t have the time or energy to reach that distance goal, it can be easier to make excuses to skip your walk.
Therefore, tracking minutes is what I recommend to my clients who are losing weight. It creates a personalized time in which they focus on the exercise, and gives them the ability to adapt their speed and distance based on their physical and mental placement. A 30-minute walk can look different depending on where you are that day: it can be leisurely and focused on your mental health, or it can be. full of periods That raises your heart rate and burns calories.
However, keep in mind that a successful fitness plan (and the way we track that progress) looks different for everyone! We have several Start TODAY community members who are losing weight, boosting energy, and feeling better than ever thanks to tracking steps or miles. If you feel motivated by the goal of hitting a certain number of steps each day, this might be the best method for you! Other people are motivated by mileage challenges or like the simplicity of logging a certain number of miles each day or week. So it keeps track of how you feel best and motivates you to keep walking constantly.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com