Walking Pace

I read recently that if you are not walking at a certain pace, you may as well be home sitting on your couch for all the good it’s doing you!  While I am not sure that is entirely correct, it is something to think about.  Walking at too leisurely a pace is not going to help you with your fitness goals.

If you are judging by perceived effort level, you want to be around a 6 or 7.  You should feel slightly breathless, able to speak short sentences but not carry on a lengthy conversation.  Heart rate level should be at 75% of your max and you should be doing a 3.5 -4.0 mph.  At these paces you should not have your arms down along your sides.  Make sure your elbows are bent with your fingers hitting from around pocket level up to rib cage level.  Just increasing you arm swing frequency can help speed things up!

Now get out and get walking!