Today is another day in these free series of “WALK WITH ME” and the topic of today is how walking boosts your metabolism. One of the topics I feel my audience wants to hear about during this pandemic since I got a lot of messages to ask me to help with corona-weight gain.
During these challenging times of the Corona-virus threat I would like to invite you to go on a daily walk with me to stay healthy and positive. If you are still allowed to go outside then do so! If not you can walk with me on a treadmill of in place in front of your TV watching your favourite show. If you have a stationary bike that is fine also. As long as I can get you moving.
As long as necessary I will keep encouraging you to walk with me cause walking has sooo many benefits. Everyday I will motivate you by sharing one of these benefits to inspire you to walk with me. Follow me on facebook @takeyoutimeblog and instagram @takeyoutimeblog (or click the icons above) and let me help you to stay healthy, fit and positive during times of Corona. NOTE: I have decided today that I am not going to mention the number of days I have been encouraging you throughout these quarantaine times. I will keep on posting but in order to stay positive I do not want to count days with you.
Walking is great cardiovascular exercise: low-impact AND effective to boost your metabolism. But what exactly is metabolism? Simply put it is the process in which for example the energy in food is broken down and used to supply the body with energy. Getting more exercise will make your body burn more energy both during and after exercising. And more and more people are convinced of the power of walking in this process!
Some tips that will help you to even burn MORE energy during and after walking:
Walk faster: when increasing the speed of walking you will burn more calories. Try to reach a state where you can still talk to a friend on the phone but fast enough so it doesn’t look like you are merely window shopping
– Lengthen the duration of your walk: fat burning kicks in usually after half an hour of walking so make it a habit to take longer walks going from 45 to 60 minutes.
– Walking uphill: walking at a slight incline will work your leg muscles and will make your walk more challenging resulting in a higher calorie burn during the walk but also afterwards because you will build more muscles. Don’t overdo this if you want sleek, long legs and are not into bulky muscles.
– Add some weight: carrying a backpack filled with some weight or even better a weight vest will make you burn more energy. I am not a fan of adding weights to your legs as this might put too much strain on your joints and muscles. Using light weights on your wrists however is a good idea to also train your arm muscles.
– Walk regularly: if you walk on a daily basis you will see changes in your basal metablic rate, which is the amount of energy your body burns at rest. The “Journal of the American Dietetic Association” found that women who walked for nine hours a week saw changes in body-fat percentage and also their metabolic rate at rest. If you lead a sedentary life you will not benefit from this simple remedy to lose weight.
– Build more muscles: add a light weight training program to your walking regime. Muscles burn more energy than fat so start weight lifting. You will burn more calories even when watching a Netflix marathon!
So go outside and get walking: 1 hour a day really is not that difficult! Everyone can do it and you only need a good pair of walking shoes.
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