Walk Your Way to Weight Loss

(Tools for the Toolbox)

“It requires a direct dispensation from Heaven to become a walker.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Copyright 2004 Laura Turner, updated 2023

The benefits of walking are undeniable, from weight loss to improved endurance, muscle tone to long-range health. Walking can be a means to help you in reaching all of these goals. Moreover, walking is easy, fun, inexpensive, and time-sensitive. I’ve used it as a valuable tool in my own weight-loss efforts.

With this in mind, you can quickly achieve your fitness goals by aiming to take 10,000 steps each day. Pop on a pedometer from your local sporting goods store (or you can buy one quickly and easily from amazon.com), and you are on your way.

However, if you have specific fitness priorities, what follows are targeted programs I’ve created to help you meet your goals quickly and efficiently. Choose from weight loss, cardio conditioning, muscle toning, long-term health, or a combination of all of these.

Walking For Weight Loss:

Benefits: Flattens tummy, shrinks hips, tightens thighs, reduces excessive fat.

Type of walk: Moderate; 45-60 minutes daily.

Calories expended: 2,000-2,500 per week.

Cardio Conditioning:

Benefits: Strengthens heart, improves aerobic endurance, helps you perform better during other aerobic activities, and enables you to recover quickly from physical exertion.

Type of walk:  High intensity, brisk pace; 20-30 minutes 3-4 days per week.

Calories expended: 800-1,000 calories per week.

Muscle Toning:

Benefits: Improved muscle strength, endurance, body firmness, and metabolism.

Type of walk: Moderate, with resistance; 20-70 minutes 2-3 days per week. 

Calories expended: 500-3,000 calories per week.

Long-Term Health:

Benefits:  Done consistently, this walk will increase energy, reduce stress and fatigue, improve the risk of heart disease, improve mood, improve self-esteem, and add years to your life.

Type of Walk:  Consistent walks: 30+ minutes daily.

Calories expended 2,000 per week.

Have It All! Mix, Match & Add Resistance:

For all the benefits listed above, choose a different program each day, four times each week. You can also ratchet up your progress by using light hand or wrist weights, swinging them in a controlled manner. When using extra weight, flex your arm muscles with each swing, keeping them as close as possible to your upper body.

Safety Considerations:

Most importantly, check with your doctor before you begin any fitness program, especially if it’s been a while since you started a new fitness activity. Further, to make your walking workout experience positive, it’s wise to invest in proper footwear. You will want sneakers, walking shoes, or (and what I usually recommend) “cross-trainers.”  They are available at all sporting goods stores and are worth your investment.

Proper Walking Form:

In my experience, most people are unaware of a “way” to walk for the most significant benefit. To get the most from your walking workout, strike the ground with your heel first, then roll your foot to your toe. Finally, push off with the weight of your body from this forward position. Then, repeat this with our opposite foot.

That’s all there is to it! With a bit of effort, focus, and education, you are well on your way to reaching your fitness and weight loss goals. Those of which, as Thoreau reminds us, are a true dispensation from heaven.