Yaktrax

If you are walking for exercise, it is important to keep up your schedule if you want to get the most from your walking program. Otherwise, you can lose momentum and gains to your health and overall well being. That's why you need to keep walking regardless of the weather and other things that can come up and get in the way.

Christmas is particularly bad for losing momentum, it's not only the change in the weather as the temperatures drop, it's also the season. You get busy decorating, shopping, cooking turkey, entertaining, going to Christmas parties and so on. Just remember to keep some time aside for you walking program, even if you have to split that time up, it's better than not walking at all. It's also important to note that walking around the mall shopping is walking, but it isn't as good because your pace is obviously slower with lots of breaks to look at possible gifts and presents. You don't get your heart rate up and keep it up, at least not to the same extent as a full on walk.

In order to keep your walking program going over the winter, dress warmly, but not too warm, wool is good for wicking moisture away from your body, keeping you from getting cold from sweating. Good winter walking shoes or a good pair of leather boots with a walking heel are also OK. Of course mittens and a stocking cap are essential for keeping you warm and comfortable on your walks. By no means leave home without a hat, too much body heat is lost through the top of your head without one. It's amazing the difference you will feel with a good hat on.

The other consideration for walking in winter is ice. One fall can leave you badly hurt, perhaps incapacitated for months, so don't risk it. If it is icy, it might be better to drive to your nearest shopping mall and walk some laps around the mall, inside, in the warmth. Just remember you are walking not shopping, don't be stopping to window shop....

Another important and useful item for winter walking is to invest in a good pair of ice creepers like these Yaktrax

These creepers fit over your shoes or boots and offer amazing traction and surefootedness on ice. They are lightweight and easy to put on, and will give you added confidence in slippery conditions. They make a great Christmas gift too!

Yaktrax

Women's Walking Shoes

As I'm sure I have mentioned in earlier posts, a good pair of walking shoes is important if you are serious about beginning a walking program for your health. Good shoes will make the difference between going on a short walk and going the distance. That's where shoes like those made by New Balance are important. New Balance is dedicated to helping you meet your goals. They spend their money on research and development, design their shoes to fit your feet, not an image.

That's what they have done with these New Balance Women's WW645 Walking Shoe which they packed with lots of cushioning, including Abzorb® in the heel and forefoot. Top that off with C-Cap EVA midsole cushions, that assist with with your steps, and the shock-absorbing rubber outsole that helps reduce impact on your feet.
In addition to the comfort and utility features, the rugged suede and mesh upper fits in on the trails, yet is comfortable enough for a casual stroll.

Indoor Walking Exercises

As we all know, walking is one of the best forms of overall exercise. In fact it may be the very best form of exercise you can do for overall fitness. Doctors and health professionals recommend walking to help tone and strengthen your body to overcome many types of illness.

The problem is that you cannot always get outside to go walking. The weather can be a factor, heavy rain, or icy streets, too much snow, or in some places it just isn't all that safe to go walking, especially at night.

That's where indoor exercises like the ones in this video come in. Very similar to the benefits of walking, but inside, out of the weather.



It's something to think about....

Pedometer's Help You Lose Weight

Here is good news for all of us walkers who are using a pedometer to measure our distances travelled. You are using a pedometer in your walking program aren't you?

News out of Washington, reported by Reuters says that using a pedometer is helpful to people who are walking to lose weight. The point of using the pedometer seems to be to ensure that you walk far enough.

The story reports that a team of researchers from the University of Michigan discovered that people who walk 20-40 minutes a day "lost a small but steady amount of weight."

The doctor in charge of the study, Caroline Richardson said that "an increase in physical activity can be expected to result in health benefits that are independent of weight loss."

The report goes on to say that physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular problems, lowers your blood pressure and helps dieters maintain lean muscle tissue.

But that isn't exactly news to those of us who read The Walking Blogger, or for that matter, people who don't. We've been talking about the benefits of walking for exercise for some time now. In fact, almost since we started this blog.

We're also true believers in the value of adding a pedometer to your walking equipment. Let's face it, you don't need a lot of special equipment to take up walking as a sport, pasttime or exercise routine. A decent pair of walking shoes, and a pedometer is really all you need. Of course, you probably should wear pants, otherwise, where you gonna hang your pedometer.....?

Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer -- VARIATION comes in, this is a great pedometer, not the most expensive you can buy, but not the cheapest either.


Omron Pedometer

How To Live Longer

A new report from the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute of Cancer Research, called Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective has just been released and it contains some fascinating information about maintaining your health, and avoiding cancer.

The comprehensive report, over 500 pages, indicates that weight management, exercise and proper nutrition are the main components to reducing your chances of getting cancer. The report also says the earlier you start following this information, the better.

So what exactly are the keys to avoiding cancer. Well, you need to read the report, but some of the highlights indicate the importance of staying lean, regular exercise, (at least 30 minutes a day) and limiting you intake of alcohol and red meat. The report also recommends we avoid processed meats.

Excess fat has been linked to cancers of the esophagus, pancreas, colon and rectum, endometrium, kidney and breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Of course the one we all know about by now is the importance of not smoking, but surprisingly, according to experts, obesity will soon be a bigger cause of cancer than smoking. I assume that is because smokers are declining.

This is all good news to those of us who have been walking for good health. We knew before this report that losing weight and getting regular exercise was good for us, but perhaps we didn't realize just how good. I personally have always associated walking and exercise with decreasing my chances of a heart attack, which of course it does, but now, with the news that it also helps us to avoid cancer, it adds another great reason to put on my walking shoes and get going.

I will be bringing some excerpts from the report over the next few posts as I read through the material.

The Importance of Warming Up Before Exercise

I know...I know...I have been preaching about the importance of warming up and stretching exercises before beginning any walking exercise program, or for that matter any form of exercise. Normally I am pretty good at doing just that, some careful stretches and away I go...

But Friday night I failed, faltered in my own teachings...we were at a work related event, bowling, and i didn't stretch before starting. For one thing, I have never really looked at bowling as exercise. Boy was I wrong.

By the end of the third and final string, I was tired, sore and ready to call it quits, take off my rented bowling shoes and go home.

But that was only the beginning. The next morning I was so stiff and sore I thought I must have been run over by a truck. My right leg no longer bends, and my thigh screams when I walk, it screams "Stop walking you idiot" and it would be right.

It seems I pulled every muscle in the front and side of my leg, something that didn't become apparent until Saturday, and really apparent today, two days later. I can barely walk and when I do I limp, and whimper...my wife keeps telling me to suck it up, but she is sore today, so she has kind of laid off the comments.....oddly enough it took two days for her soreness to set in, probably because she is...I hate to admit it...in better shape than me.

So I am laid up. Well, not totally, but slowed up. My walking exercise program is completely out the window for the next day or so. I tried to walk it off today, hoping that if I got moving I could get things back in order and resume my normal walking program, but it isn't to be. It's hard to get much speed or distance when you are crying.....

The lesson of course, is to warm up before you start bowling or any other form of exercise including walking. I always do a few stretches before heading out for my walk, but for some reason didn't feel it necessary for bowling. That was a mistake. Bowlers may not give you the impression of athletic prowess, but trust me, they are atheletes. I know I have learned new respect for the bowlers among us.....

Before you walk or bowl, do some stretches, bend your knees, and back, reach for your toes, do some lunges, all the stuff that you need to do to losen up those tight muscles, and start slow. If you are walking for exercise or bowling, don't try to be a hero in the first 100 yards, or, in the case of bowling, first string of the evening....

The Power of Incidental Exercise

Another day walking, another day without my damm step counter....I keep forgetting it at home. Each day for the last couple of months I have been taking the transit system to work, getting off about a kilometer from my building and walking to work. Then I do the reverse on my way home, walking another kilometer or so. Add that to another kilometer at lunch time and I am getting in a good 3 kilometers per day, which isn't bad, particularly considering that I am not trying to hard, or using time that I could be using for other stuff, like this blog.

I've written before about the power of incidental walking, or exercise that you get without actually setting out to exercise. It's a great way to get the physical exercise that we all need for good health and weight loss, or weight control, and is useful for helping to reach our exercise goals, at least in terms of walking.

Incidental exercise can also come in the form of other things, things you have to do, but don't really consider exercise. For example, mowing the grass is a pretty decent workout for most people, as long as they don't have a really tiny yard, or a ride on lawn mower. Even the self propelled mowers are still good for exercise as long as you have to walk behind them. Not as good perhaps as a non-self-propelled mower, but exercise just the same.

Grass cutting and then raking a typical suburban yard is usually a decent use of an hour or so as an opportunity to get some incidental exercise, including some aerobic and weight bearing exercises. And the best part is, you don't even know you are exercising....I think the key to getting some incidental exercise is to not always do things the easy way, look for things that you can do that will require a little physical work. Using the preceding lawn mowing as an example, instead of using a grass catcher bag on the mower, take the bag off, and rake your lawn instead. It won't take too long, but the exercise and calories burned will make it worthwhile.