Let's Go for a Walk

I have started walking. I walk the same route every time I walk...from the end of my driveway to St. Mary's Road and back again. It's just barely over two miles. I don't do it every day. I never do it more than once a day. I don't time myself. And I usually go alone. But it's definitely a workout.

Well, I decided to do some research on how many calories I'm burning and how I might be able to maximize my walking workouts.

First, I learned that a pound is equivalent to 3500 calories. So, if you want to drop a pound in a week, you either have to eat 3500 LESS calories in a week or burn 3500 MORE calories in a week, or a combination of the two.

Second, I learned that I burn an average of 117 calories per mile (walking at approximately 3mph for someone of my weight). So pretty much, if I don't change my diet (and my math is correct), I'd have to walk 30 miles to lose a pound. That sounds almost depressing. My round-trip to work is 34 miles. Perhaps I should leave the car at home and start hoofing it to work every day. Then I could lose a pound every day that I went to work! : ) Granted, these numbers will all change as I lose weight, increase my speed (or even lessen my speed), and build muscle.

Third, I learned that there are several different ways to walk for fitness.

Easy Health Walk - 30 minutes daily at 50-60% maximum heart rate (MHR). This is a purposeful, yet comfortable pace for building long-term health and well-being.

Weight-Control or Fat-Burning Walk - 45-60 minutes daily at 60-70% MHR. This is a brisk pace with noticeable increase in breathing, while still able to carry on a conversation.

Distance or Endurance Walk - 5-10 miles once a week or so at 65-80% MHR. This is a steady pace for building endurance.

Aerobic Walk - 20-60 minutes (depending on your current fitness level) every other day at 70-80% MHR. Quick pace with noticeable increase in breathing, but not out of breath. On "off" days, do the Easy Health Walk or the Weight-Control Walk. This walk improves overall fitness level.

Athletic Performance Walk (Threshold) - no more than 50 minutes, 1-3 times per week at 80-92% MHR with rest days between. This workout is strenuous with heavy breathing and the ability to talk only in short phrases. This workout increases strength.

Economy Walk - short bouts of walking as fast as you can for 30 seconds, followed by a slow, easy pace for 2 minutes, repeated 8-12 times. For racewalkers, this builds speed ability and technique. This should only be done once a week.

Speaking of MHR, start here...

Age - Male Female
20 - 200 208
25 - 195 201
30 - 190 196
35 - 185 191
40 - 180 186
45 - 175 181
50 - 170 175
55 - 165 171
60 - 160 166
65 - 155 161
70 - 150 156

Once you find your MHR, memorize the 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% values of it.

Tomorrow, I'm going to type up the Beginner's Walking Schedule, which is a four-week kick start to get you going. Then I'm going to type up the Weekly Walking Workout, if you want an overall workout from your walking. I'll also point you to a couple of resources that I found.

So, let's go for a walk. It's good for us!

*I got much of this information from about.com/walking.