How to Make Your Fall Walk More Interesting
You may have observed various fitness stations along a walking trail in a local park if you've ever gone for a walk. For a reason, these training circuits have been around for decades: they work! Adding strength-based exercises to a stroll ups the ante and may help you achieve greater overall fitness in less time.
However, many of these training stations are blocked due to current pandemic worries, or you may simply be wary about sharing a pullup bar with your fellow park-goers. You don't need a park with a full exercise station to benefit from this type of combined workout, thankfully.
Combine your current walk with these simple bodyweight exercises. They don't require any special equipment, don't get your hands dirty, and (in general) don't attract too much unwanted attention. These exercises can be done once during your workout or twice or three times over the course of a walk.
LUNGE FOR WALKING
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The walking lunge is a discreet strength-training activity that you can execute while walking if you're worried about seeming ridiculous (without turning heads). Rather than taking a typical stride forward, take a huge step forward and lower yourself into a lunge by bending both knees while keeping your hands on your hips (or out to your sides for balance). The back knee should barely graze or hover just above the ground. To get back up, push through your feet, then take a huge step forward with your other foot and repeat the lunge. On each side, do around 10 reps.
Level up: A weighted vest or a pack can help with this (and many other motions), so check into different vest choices if you want to make exercises harder without adding a speed/cardio element. If you don't want to draw attention to it, there are plenty of modest weighted vests that may be worn under a coat or T-shirt.
POSE OF THE MOUNTAIN
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The mountain pose may appear to be a mundane stand-in-place position, but it's an excellent warm-up for pushups and planks. Begin by standing with your feet approximately hip-width apart and your arms straight down by your sides. Maintain a tall, erect posture from your feet to the crown of your head by pulling your shoulders back and down (imagine your grandmother poking you in the back and telling you to stand up straight). This alone is difficult for most people, especially for those of us who spend our days glued to our computers. Maintain your gaze straight ahead, engage your quadriceps and glutes, and activate your core (imagine you're about to have a dog leap up on you and you're bracing for it). It should feel like you're putting in a lot of effort just to maintain your position! Hold for 30 seconds before letting go.
Make it a full sun salutation by sweeping your arms up and swan-diving them forward while folding your hips and coming into a forward fold. You can then return to a standing position or walk your hands out to a plank position (if you're comfortable touching the ground). Hold the plank for a few breaths, then walk your hands back to meet your feet in a forward fold, slowly rising to a standing position.
PUSHUPS ON AN INCLINE
PUSHUPS ON AN INCLINE
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If you've always wanted to improve your pushups but can't seem to get the traditional variation right, try lifting your hands. This variation is ideal for a walk because you can steady yourself against a tree or a fence. Concentrate on activating your core and use your upper body to lower and push yourself back up. (Pretend you're pushing and tugging through quicksand if that helps.) Even if you're almost totally upright, this should be difficult.) To begin, aim for a set of 10 reps.
As you acquire strength, switch to lower items to brace against, such as a park seat instead of a tree. As you approach closer to the ground, the more difficult this motion becomes until you're completing a full pushup.
RAISING CALF
RAISING CALF
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Calf raises are a simple technique to improve your ankle mobility while building your calf muscles, and they're arguably the most subtle of workouts to include on a walk. Slowly rise to your toes on a sturdy, level surface, then slowly lower back down. To get the most out of these, think of the mountain stance and engage your core while performing them. Rather than bouncing on your toes, aim for 15 reps while remaining slow and controlled.
Level up: Do calf raises on a stair or curb, putting the ball of your foot on the stair and allowing your heel to drop below the stair's level as you fall down. This helps you to stretch your ankles more deeply while also working your calves harder.
TWEET THIS ARTICLE BY CLICKING HERE > Without using any equipment, you can turn your walk into a full-body exercise. #mastsam3 via @mastsam3
ROPE JUMP (SANS ROPE)
ROPE JUMP (SANS ROPE)
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Add some leaps to your workout to raise your heart rate. The wonderful thing about jumping rope — or pretending to jump rope in this case — is that it's a pretty little movement, so most people won't notice you're doing it. Pretend you're jumping rope and bounce on your toes for each repetition, only an inch or so off the ground. You can also incorporate a small wrist movement (similar to a rope twirl) to help anyone who works on a computer all day and suffers from wrist strain. Aim for a total of 50 reps.
Step it up a notch by bringing a jump rope on your next walk and pausing to utilize it. (Rope-less jump ropes are also available so you can receive the wrist movement and practice jumping rope without getting tangled.)
POSE OF A TREE
POSE OF A TREE
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Tree position is a simple yoga pose that may be done anywhere to enhance balance and hip stability. Most people imagine this stance and fear they won't be able to pull it off, but it's not only about tucking your foot up near your groin. A perfect tree posture can also be done with your foot resting on your ankle or calf rather than all the way up your leg. Balance on one foot, then raise the other to rest on the ankle or calf while opening your knee to the side. As you get higher, it becomes more difficult to keep your knee open, so stay low and make sure your knee is tracking out to the side, not in front of you. Switch sides after about 30 seconds of holding.
Level up: Vary your arm movements — go all out and perform the YMCA if you're feeling brave — but any arm movement will make your balance more difficult.
RUN UP THE STAIRS
RUN UP THE STAIRS
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A flight of steps can assist strengthen your glutes and quadriceps while also adding another level of cardio to your walk. Most walkers prefer to avoid hills and stairs, but they should be welcomed because they exercise muscles that are rarely used when going for a stroll. Try to add some spring to your stride and take as many steps as you can. Return to the top and complete another set or two if you're feeling up to it. Work your way up to spending 60–90 seconds climbing the stairs.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
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As you can see, going for a walk isn't limited to walking. Make the most of what you have, even if it's only your body. If the numerous advantages of adding strength training to your fitness program don't entice you, consider it a strategy to avoid boredom and plateauing.
Make daily progress toward your exercise and diet goals, such as increasing your step count. To stay motivated, go to “Plans” on the MyFitnessPal app for daily coaching and simple assignments.