walking for fitness, exercise and fun

The secret is in the starting, what I mean by this is most people start their exercise program by doing to much exercise. Start small and build a foundation, I know it’s hard to start small but think about the next day after starting a program of walking and how those muscle are screaming to skip the walk and lay on the couch watching TV.

Try this instead, start by walking 1 mile or less but do it 4-6 times during the week. Now you can build a program by adding a half mile every two weeks. Now the second part of starting, make your goal long term oriented, like for five years. Here’s my goal program, walk 1200 miles per year for five years with a long term of 5000 miles. The best thing about this kind of goal setting is it will focus your viewpoint out in time, not on next week.

Take a look at this article, it has some great tips:

How Do I Stick With My Exercise Program?

To be successful with an exercise routine, you must make it part of your everyday life. It should become as important to you as going to work, or spending time on leisure activities. Do not let it become an afterthought, or something you will do “if you have time.” Be sure to make the time. Your body will thank you.

Take these steps to help make sure you stick with your exercise program.

• Make your daily life more active.
• Schedule time for exercise.
• Set goals and keep track of your progress.
• Reward yourself.

Make Your Daily Life More Active

One way to maintain your motivation to exercise at a dedicated time is to be more active throughout your day.

How an active lifestyle helps you stick with exercise. Being active is a mind-set. If you think of yourself of an active person, you will move more. If you’ve been inactive for awhile, even small steps, like taking the stairs instead of asking your child to get something upstairs for you can start making you feel lighter, more energized, more able to move, and more confident.

How to add activity to each day. You’ve probably heard or read common tips for doing this, such as getting off the bus a few stops early and walking the rest of the way to work. But are you really making this sort of activity part of your life? If not, take a look at the tips under How Can I Be More Active Each Day? Pick the top three that you think you can easily adopt. Picture yourself doing each of these. Pick a date to start doing them, and track your progress each day. When you’ve made the first three part of your routine, pick out three more to incorporate.

Schedule Time for Exercise

Make exercise a priority.

How a routine helps you stick with exercise. When you make exercise part of your routine, it becomes just something else you do and not a decision you have to make each day. Having a set time also helps some people who tend to mentally punish themselves all day as they brood over whether they will exercise. If you have a set time, you can count on following through on it and free your mind.

How to fit in exercise. Consider your preferences and what will work for you. Are you more likely to exercise early in the morning, during lunch, after work, or in the evening? Schedule a time and place that’s convenient for you. Try exercising at the same time every day. Put it on your calendar so you’ll remember. Treat it just as you would any other appointment, such as a dentist appointment - don’t cancel it.

Set Goals and Keep Track of Your Progress

Having goals is a great way to stay motivated.

How setting goals and tracking help you stick with exercise. Setting goals allows you to see yourself doing your activity and that mental preparation is key to becoming an active person. Continually having new milestones can also keep you moving when you might feel unwilling to be active. Plus, keeping track of your progress concretely shows your accomplishments. Some people get so caught up in pushing themselves that they actually want to quit because they expect so much from themselves. An exercise log keeps you from forgetting how far you’ve come.

How to set goals. Select some short-term and long-term goals. Perhaps your short-term goal in the first week is to walk for 10 minutes three times a week. By your 12th week, your goal might be to walk 35 minutes 5 days a week and to take part in a 5-kilometer fund-raising walk in your community.

Your longer-term goals might be to lose 10 pounds and to reduce your total cholesterol by 20 mg/dL.

Reward Yourself

There is nothing that makes you want to keep doing what you are doing more than a little positive reinforcement.

How rewards help you stick with your exercise. Changing any habit - including being inactive - is hard. It takes energy to stick with it and mental persistence too. Planning to reward yourself can help you stay motivated. It’s also a way to remember to be kind to yourself and not too hard on yourself - those are the mental attitudes that lead to good health.

How to reward yourself. As you achieve each of your short- and long-term exercise goals, reward yourself. Purchase a book you’ve been wanting or treat yourself to a tape or CD you would enjoy. Don’t think your rewards always have to be items that cost money. You can motivate yourself with some positive self-talk. Phrases such as “I can do this” and “I’m taking control of my actions and making my life healthier” can help keep you focused on your purpose for exercising in the first place. It may also help you feel stronger and more energized just to say to yourself, “I am a winner!” Don’t reward yourself with food, which could derail your efforts to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Now that you have the tools go and take a walk, changing your life and losing that weight forever. I know I have by walking 100 miles a month.

MikeZume_walking step by step to weight loss, fitness and fun.

Please consult your physician before starting any exercise or weight loss program.
Your physician is your very best resource.

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Part Four of Four

The Basics of Fitness Walking continued…

ZumeWalk - walking for weight loss

Out and About

• Get off a stop or two early on the bus or subway, and walk the rest of the way.
• Park farther away at the shopping mall, and walk the extra distance.
• Walk around while waiting for a relative or friend’s game to begin.
• Walk while waiting for the plane at the airport.
• See the sights in new cities by walking.
• At the beach, sit and watch the waves instead of lying flat. Better yet, get up and walk, run, or fly a kite.
• When golfing, walk instead of using a cart.

Advice for Caregivers of Children

• Have kids walk to and from school.
• Provide time for activity in a school setting.
• Be an active role model.

This is one of the best articles I’ve  has read about walking, walking for fitness and starting a program of walking. The one thing I’ve learned from walking for almost 15 years with a two year stoppage and then restarting for the last two years and 2400 miles. Here’s the secret to weight loss and getting fit with walking, start that’s right start. Strap on your shoes, open the door and take that first step. Start small and build a program that you stick with and one that includes walking 4-6 times per week by building toward a goal of walking 1 hour per day, six days of a week.

Good luck I know you can do it, just start today and turn your life around with a life long program of fitness which includes the best form of exercise - walking.

MikeZume_walking, exercise for the rest of us. walking, exercise for the rest of your life.

Please consult your physician before starting any exercise or weight loss program.
Your physician is your very best resource.

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Part Two of Four

ZumeWalk - walking for fitness

Need to start exercising? What could be easier than walking? Fitness walking reaps as many rewards as other physical activities, and you don’t need special equipment or training.

(continued)

The Benefits of Fitness Walking continued…

As an active member of volkssporting groups, she and her husband have traveled by foot in all 50 states, and are now working on traversing through all the state capitals. They have met many friends through treks and have seen people begin lifelong relationships.

Fitness walking “gives people purpose to get out and do something,” says Cottrill. “It improves their health, it improves their blood pressure, they can lose weight, and it just keeps them flexible.”

Cottrill’s observations correspond well with the scientific research on physical activity. According to the AHA, vigorous activities that include brisk walking and moderate activities that include walking for pleasure can help reduce the following risk factors for heart disease:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity and overweight
• High levels of triglycerides
• Low levels of HDL (”good” cholesterol)

Additionally, Richard Stein, MD, AHA spokesman, says fitness walking is easy to do and can achieve the same cardiovascular benefits as many forms of physical activity.

“The heart is really a very nice organ,” he says. “It really doesn’t know whether you’re walking barefoot on the beach or you’re in $4,000 Nike gear in a million-dollar treadmill.”

Good forms of exercise supposedly include activities that burn fat, use large muscle groups, or happen over long distances, particularly if there is no resistance involved.

For older people afflicted with arthritis, Hoffmann says fitness walking can actually ease pain instead of cause it. “There is a huge body of research that shows that the symptoms of arthritis are usually relieved by walking, that if people will get up and get moving, they will find that their joints will get better and they will be less stiff and less sore.”

At the other end of the spectrum, walking can also help meet children’s healthneeds, says Charles Corbin, MD, author of the NASPE’s physical activity guidelines. “Kids need to expend enough calories during the day to maintain desirable weight,” he says. “Plus, they need to expend energy consistent with building bones and muscles for fitness and normal growth and development.”

The Basics of Fitness Walking

Most people may think they’ve mastered this skill at toddler age, but certain steps apparently need to be taken in order to maximize the health benefits of going by foot:

Timetable: The surgeon general recommends moderate amounts of activities such as a brisk walk of at least 30 minutes a day every day for overall health. The NASPE proposes that kids get more — from 60 minutes up to several hours of physical activity (which includes walking) a day — on most, if not all days of the week. People looking to lose weight are encouraged by the AARP to hit the pavement at least an hour a day for most days. For heart, lung, and circulation health, the AHA suggests 30 minutes of vigorous activity (including walking) a day, three to four times a week. Many of these guidelines allow time requirements to be non-continuous, with bouts of physical activity sprinkled throughout the day.

MikeZume_walking step by step for fitness

Please consult your physician before starting any exercise or weight loss program.
Your physician is your very best resource.

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ZumeWalking for Weight Loss

One of the best ways to lose those love handles is walking and if you wantt to shed those unwanted pounds try walking to work. Here’s a great article from Detroit News written by Tali Arbel titled, “6 Ways You Can Put a Little Exercise Into Your Work Day.”

Stressed at work? You need some exercise! But if working out after or before the job isn’t working out, make your desk a gym, says the Mayo Health Clinic, which offers these ideas on how to incorporate exercise intooffice life:

1. When you need to talk to a co-worker, get up and walk to other desks and offices rather than calling or using instant-messaging.

2. When walking to and from work — or at any time during your day — make sure you move quickly.

3. Instead of a coffee break, take a “fitness break.” Go on a walk, do some stretches or even try a few easy muscle-building exercises with equipment you can store in your desk, such as resistance bands or small hand weights.

4. See if you can find others who want to increase their activity level to join you on a lunchtime stroll. Regularly-scheduled exercise with a group makes you more likely to stay involved, according to the Mayo Clinic, and is also a nice social opportunity.

5. Stand, don’t sit! Just getting up burns more calories than if you remain seated for hours at a stretch.

6. Make your commute an opportunity to move. Bike to work if possible, or get off public transportation before your destination and hike the rest of the way to work. If driving, park as far away as is reasonable. And always take the stairs.

MikeZume_walk everywhere not just for exercise.

Please consult your physician before starting any exercise or weight loss program.
Your physician is your very best resource.

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