Body & Mind

This is how you burn more calories while walking

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I have no idea how you all are doing, but the motivation to go running in this cold weather is just not there for me. Not even close. It's just gone. I did manage to put on those leggings and a thermal shirt twice, but I didn't get further than five kilometers. This winter, I've decided to just stick to walking, because at least that way I get my desired amount of steps. Podcast on, thick scarf wrapped around, leather gloves on, dog on the leash, and I'm content.

I already knew that walking can burn some calories, but by adding a few simple techniques, you can burn even more. I'll summarize them for you, so you can count your daily walk as a real workout from now on. Nice and easy, right?

Carry something with you
Sure, ultimately those Nordic walking poles are the best thing to carry with you when you go walking, but I think we can collectively conclude that you end up looking like a gray Gerda of 75, and I bet you'd prefer to avoid that look. My holy tip? Ankle weights. By adding an ankle weight of one kilogram per leg, a walk becomes ten percent heavier, which means you burn ten percent more calories. I personally never wear skinny jeans anymore (because: uncomfortable), so my loose pants fall nicely over them and you don't see them while walking. Ideal.

Try a ‘walking workout’
It doesn't sound very exciting, but a mini workout adds a bit of extra spice when you're walking a long distance. You make use of intervals where you walk harder at one moment than at another. This increases your metabolism rapidly and you burn a lot more calories. Let me explain it.

  1. Start with a medium pace (3 to 5 minutes)
  2. Take your hands out of your pockets and move your arms with your body (3 minutes)
  3. Increase the walking pace (3 minutes)
  4. Lower the pace back to medium and use your arms again (3 minutes)
  5. Increase the walking pace (3 minutes)
  6. Lift your knees while walking (2 minutes)
  7. Walk at a medium pace (3 minutes)
  8. Increase the pace one last time (3 minutes)
  9. That was it again.
  10. Find a buddy

There must be someone in your vicinity who doesn't mind taking a walk with you. In fact, make it a weekly tradition and go for a walk together every Wednesday evening for an hour. Research has even shown that you produce more endorphins (the happiness hormone) when you exercise with someone.

Take an incline more often
I find it anything but fun to walk uphill, but it's good for your body. You burn about 30 percent more calories by adding just a small incline test to your walk. And what's also not a bad side effect: you immediately train your butt. Call me.

Source: womenshealth.com | Image: Netflix