One great way to slowly incorporate more activity into your day is with walking. It is free, low-impact, effective and can be done anywhere. Start by parking a little further away at the store. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Consider buying a pedometer and striving to reach 10,000 steps each day. These are all ways to incorporate walking. Below or some walking tips for you.
Walking Tips
- Move at a steady pace. Over time, increase your pace and distance, but only if you feel fully comfortable doing it.
- Walk with your head and chin up, back straight, knees slightly bent, and abdomen flat and pulled inward.
- Relax your shoulders and swing your arms freely to the point where they just brush your body. Relax and gently cup your hands.
- During your walk, try to land on the heel of your foot and roll forward to push off on the ball of your foot.
- It is best to begin your walking program on level stretches. When you feel ready, try to walk up some hills – this will help your body to burn more calories faster and help tone your thighs and buttocks.
- If you’re walking in the evening, watch for traffic and wear reflective clothing or shoes.
- Break up your walking sessions to fit your time constraints. If you don’t have an hour to walk in the evening, then walk 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.
Help motivate others by starting a friendly in-office competition. See who can log the most steps using their pedometer in a given month. If you have foot, knee, or lower back pain with walking consider seeing your chiropractor. Spinal manipulation can help with the joint dysfunction and many times simple orthotics placed in your shoes can alleviate this discomfort.
