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Elevate Your Exercise: 11 Tips for a Better, Brisker Walk To Help You Lose Weight

Walking is one of the best exercises for bone strength, cardiovascular health, and weight loss, plus it’s easy and convenient to do. But walking can get boring day in and day out, especially if you follow the same routine. That doesn’t mean you have to switch to a new form of exercise. There are many ways to boost your walking routine so you’ll be energized every day to hit the pavement–and endure. Try these 10 tips, and see how easy it is to give your step more pep:

Alter Your Route

If you stick to the same walking path every day, you’re bound to get bored. Try alternating your route for a more inspiring walk that will get you moving at a quick clip rather than a tired saunter. Find a new trail that’s scenic and diverse, or explore a different roadway or sidewalk. Always keep safety first, though. Avoid busy streets as well as dangerously isolated paths.

Hydrate Well

Sometimes a tiresome walk is simply the result of not being well hydrated. Water does more than satiate thirst; it provides energy and a clear mind to help prepare you for exercise. Hydrate before you head out the door, but also take a water bottle along to sip on while walking. Be sure to empty your bladder before you begin to exercise to avoid discomfort and disruption.

Bring a Peppy but Quiet Partner

Enlisting a walking partner can be a great way to improve your walk, as long as the partner inspires you to exercise at your best. Optimal exercise partners are those who don’t chatter and who share similar fitness goals. Walking with someone who’s even more fit than you can motivate you to work harder. Dogs in good physical shape make excellent walking partners, too.

Invest in a Good Walking Shoe

If your feet aren’t comfortable, walking can be tedious, painful, and unproductive. Don’t let your shoes downgrade your walk. Investing in a good pair of walking shoes is well worth the cost. You’ll keep your feet be happy, be able to move at a faster pace, and endure longer on your walk. For the best results, get fitted for a walking shoe with an athletic shoe specialist.

 

 

Get Plugged In

Listening to music has many benefits, including energizing you. Put together a tape of your favorite songs and get some comfortable ear buds for a walk that will lift your spirits and hasten your gait. When listening to music outdoors, be sure to keep the volume at a level that allows you to hear noises on the street. Playing music too loud can harm your ears and threaten safety.

Incorporate Other Movement

All you may need to do to get more bounce in your step is to change it or add a few new steps. Incorporating movement into your walk can increase the intensity of your routine. Try skipping, hopping, or even dancing while you walk. Include arm extensions or circles for variety. Changing the way you move will work other muscles and turn your walk into a workout.

Pick the Morning

Mornings are generally the coolest time of the day, which is important for outdoor walkers because you’ll have more energy exercising in cool weather than the hot sun. But mornings can be the best time to walk indoors, too, since your mind and body are refreshed after a night of sleep. Avoid walking within a few hours of bed; late night exercise can contribute to insomnia.

Satiate Hunger First

Some people prefer to go walking as soon as they get out of bed. But doing any kind of exercise on an empty stomach can be draining and cut your routine short. You don’t need to eat a full meal to get the energy you need for an invigorating walk. In fact, eating a small protein snack like a handful of nuts, cup of yogurt, or banana, is best before beginning exercise.

Dress the Part

All-over comfort has a big impact on how fast you walk. If you’re too cold, too warm, itchy, or painfully aware of your clothing, it will affect the speed and quality of your walk. Wear layers that can be peeled off, choose clothing in comfortable fabrics, and make sure your walking wear is loose fitting and unnoticeable. Dress the part for a brisk, energizing walk, and your chances of getting one will improve.

Choose a Walker-Friendly Surface

Whether you prefer the treadmill, a sidewalk, or a hiking path, make sure the surface is walker friendly. Walking surfaces can make your gait lively or sluggish, depending on the ground condition. Choose terrain that is easy on your feet, while still giving you a challenging walk. Inclines are fine and help boost exercise; just make sure there are no hazards in the way, like rocks or branches.

Use  a Walking Pole

You don’t have to be disabled or have an injury to use a walking pole. There are plenty of walking poles on the market that you can use to in your walkout for safety and for fitness. Some of the benefits of using a walking pole are increase calorie burn due to arm movement while using the pole, increase posture and back strength.

Walking is an ideal form of exercise, but don’t just walk the walk. Follow the above tips, and you’ll feel inspired and energized to hoof it as briskly as your feet can go.

​​ Are There Additional Fitness Benefits to Doing Cardio in the Morning?

What’s the best time to do cardio? You may find it more convenient to fit a cardio workout in first thing in the morning as soon as you wake up. The activity will wake you up and get the blood pumping. Plus, some research suggests that people who work out in the morning are more likely to do it consistently. If you wait until later in the day, other things can come up that interfere with your plans to get leaner and healthier. Beyond convenience, you might wonder whether there are physiological advantages to doing cardio in the morning and whether you should do it before or after breakfast?

The Pros and Cons of Fasted Cardio

Fasted cardio is where you do a cardiovascular workout without eating first. In other words, you hop out of bed, hydrate, warm up, and launch into your workout. Some research suggests that fasted cardio, in the morning before breakfast, can work in your favor if you’re trying to get lean. After an overnight fast, carb levels are low, and your body must tap into fat as its primary fuel source. Therefore, you burn more fat if you do cardio before eating breakfast after an overnight fast.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? Your body is carb depleted and has to access fat stores to fuel exercise. In support of this, one study discussed on Science Daily found subjects who ran on a treadmill at a moderate pace burned 20 percent more fat when they skipped breakfast before their workout. They also didn’t eat more later in the day. Sounds like a winner, doesn’t it?

If you’re trying to maximize fat loss, doing cardio before breakfast may give you a slight edge but this approach works best for moderate-intensity cardio. If your morning cardio is a high-intensity interval session, exercising in a fasted state may work against you. During high-intensity exercise, your body is more dependent on carbohydrates as a fuel source than it is during low and moderate-intensity exercise. Launching into a high-intensity session in a carb-depleted state can limit your performance. You may not be able to exercise at the same intensity you would if you had eaten a pre-workout snack.

Fatigue can also be a factor and some people experience lightheadedness or a headache when they take on an intense workout without eating beforehand. It depends on how well adapted your body is to using fat as fuel. People who regularly consume a low-carb diet are “fat adapted “and may have an easier time doing fasted cardio than people who eat a higher carbohydrate diet.

Another concern is about muscle preservation. When you wake up in the morning, your cortisol level is usually at its peak relative to other times of the day. Eating something with carbohydrates tends to bring cortisol down. When you exercise in a fasted state, cortisol stays up. Why is this bad? Higher cortisol can lead to the breakdown of muscle tissue. This is mostly a concern if you do long-duration cardio, like running five or more miles.

Cardio Before Breakfast?

Whether you do cardiovascular exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach depends on your goals. If you’re trying to lean down and your cardio for the day is a brisk walk or other moderate-intensity exercise, fasted cardio may give you a slight fat loss advantage. Moderate-intensity exercise is exercise where you can still speak in complete sentences when you train. If you’re huffing and puffing so hard, you can only get out a few words, you’re working out at a high intensity.

If your go-to cardio is high-intensity interval training, it’s best to have a pre-workout snack to maximize your performance during an interval routine, unless your workout is very short. High-intensity exercise or exercise of long duration in a carb-depleted state can lead to muscle loss due to the impact of cortisol. Also, if you have certain medical conditions or take some medications, it may not be safe to work out in a carb-depleted state. Talk to your physician if you fall into this category.

Fat Loss Differences Are Likely Small

Don’t expect that fasted cardio will have a dramatic impact on fat loss. A 2014 study found that subjects who adopted a low-calorie diet and did cardiovascular exercise in a fasted state and non-fasted state experienced similar degrees of fat loss. So, you may not need to fast before a workout to get leaner.

Conclusion

Know your goals. Are you trying to lose body fat or are you most concerned about maximizing muscle gains? Fasted cardio works better for the former. If you’re trying to work as hard as possible during a high-intensity session, you’ll perform better if you don’t do it in a fasted state.

References:

Metabolism. 1999 Sep;48(9):1152-6.

J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2014; 11: 54.

Science Daily. “Lose Fat Faster Before Breakfast”