Walking and Foot Health
Walking Programmes Increase Foot heath and Overall Body Health.
How Fitter Feet Podiatrists can help keep you walking
Fitter Feet Podiatrists can assess your walking (gait) and provide orthotic foot supports to help pain free legs feet and backs when walking. Even arthritic pains can be improved by wearing orthoses when walking.
Our Podiatrists also remove callus, corns and treat painful nails to help you keep walking comfortably.
Phone us for an appointment or a chat if you would like some more information.
Beginning a Fitness Walking Program
You know you want to begin a fitness program, but don't know where to start? It's easy! Walking is one of the easiest and most profitable forms of exercise. All you need is a good pair of shoes, comfortable clothing, and the will and desire to succeed.
Start by making small but important changes to your daily routine such as:
How to start:
First of all, start out slow and easy. Just walk out the door. For most people this means head out the door, walk for 10 minutes, and walk back. That's it? Yes, that's it. Do this every day for a week. If this was easy for you, add five minutes to your walks next week (total walking time 25 minutes). Keep adding 5 minutes until you are walking as long as desired.
Watch your posture. Walk tall. Think of elongating your body. Hold your head up and eyes forward. Your shoulders should be down, back and relaxed. Tighten your abdominal muscles and buttocks and fall into a natural stride.
Be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after walking. Incorporate a warm up, cool down and stretches into your routine. Start your walk at a slow warm up pace, stop and do a few warm up/flexibilty drills. Then walk for the desired length of time. End your walk with the slower cool down pace and stretch well after your walk. Stretching will make you feel great and assist in injury prevention.
The toughest thing about starting a fitness program is developing a habit. Walking daily will help (a minimum of 5 days a week is a good goal). You should walk fast enough to reach your target heart rate, but you should not be gasping for air. After you have formed the habit you will want to evaluate your program and your goals. Here are some general guidelines:
If you are walking for the general health benefits try to walk 30 minutes a day, most days of the week, at a "talking" pace. (Talking pace means you have elevated breathing, but you can still carry a conversation.) To improve cardiovascular fitness you should walk 3 to 4 days a week, 20 to 30 minutes at a very fast pace. At this pace you are breathing hard but not gasping for air. If you are walking for weight loss you should walk a minimum of five days a week, 45 to 60 minutes at a brisk pace.
10,000 Steps Challenges
Walking 10,000 a day is a philosophy based on an idea developed in Japan 50 years ago that will keep you fit and healthy without the need for additional exercise. In fact the nick name for a pedometer in Japanese is “manpo-kei”, which means 10,000 steps.
Experts suggest walking 6,000 steps a day to improve health and 10,000 steps a day to lose weight. Each 2,000-2,500 steps is about a mile. Walking a mile burns about 80 calories for a 150-pound person, so depending on your weight, walking 10,000 steps burns between 250 and 600 calories. Most weight loss programs recommend burning 200-300 calories per day in moderate to vigorous exercise. If you walk 10,000 steps per day with 3000 of those steps at a brisk walking to jogging pace, you should be burning enough calories.
10,000 Steps Challenges Programmes
- NHS Choices - 10,000 Steps Challenge
- The Walking Site - 10,000 Steps Challenge
- verywellfit.com - Should You Walk 10000 Steps per Day
Walking Exercise Programs
- British Heart Foundation - Walking training schedules for beginner intermediate and advanced
- Ramblers – Wales pedometer Challenge
- The Walking site - Tips for walking faster
- World Walking - Gives you walking goals to aim for