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A walking routine may seem simple.
Yes, getting out there and hitting the pavement is a great way to make progress toward your health goals.
Tracking progress is useful for many reasons. Set realistic and achievable goals, easily see if your fitness is improving, and compare your daily, monthly, and yearly progress to feel accomplished.
It also helps you adjust the action plans you need to reach your goals and see results more effectively. Without tracking, there is no way to know when to change the intensity, duration, or difficulty of your program to encourage further progress.
Lack of tracking can lead to fitness stagnation, but tracking can drive results.
But if walking is your primary form of exercise, what exactly do you want to track? Is it best to walk a certain distance, time, or number of steps?
Benefits of Tracking Time Walked
Walking has proven health benefits such as weight loss, joint pain relief, and improved immune function. To reap these incredible health benefits, we recommend brisk walking for at least 30 minutes.
One of the reasons I love tracking my walks by the hour is that I can clearly see my fitness gains. If you start with 5 minutes a day, after a week you may find that you can get through 5 minutes more easily, walk longer 5-minute walks, and feel ready to walk longer timeframes. Then increase to 10 minutes a day and slowly build up from there. While you focus on the amount of time you spend walking, you’ll also increase your speed, distance, and steps as a byproduct.
If you find it difficult to walk straight for 30 minutes, start with 10 minute walks three times a day. Or start with 10-15 minutes a day and slowly build up to 30 minutes (or more).
Benefits of Tracking Steps While Walking
Many personal trainers give their clients a goal of 10,000 steps a day. This popular daily step goal can help you build accountability and get work done throughout your day instead of spending too much time exercising.
Research suggests that tracking your steps can lead to a more active lifestyle that reduces the incidence of certain health problems. Reaching your step goal gives you a sense of accomplishment. It also acts as a motivation to move more throughout the day because every step you take matters. One of our Start TODAY walking club members walked up and down a 10-foot hallway before going to bed.
However, it’s important to note that daily steps are not a one-size-fits-all approach. Studies have even shown that he can reap the benefits of walking in fewer than his standard 10,000 steps a day. Start with an achievable step goal and reassess your goal often. One of my clients, her, had set a goal of 10,000 steps a day, but consistently he was not hitting 8,000 steps. I advised her to reduce her goal to her 7,500. That way she can feel successful at the end of the day. She did this for two weeks and she consistently achieved over 7,500 steps and regularly she achieved 10,000 steps.
Benefits of Tracking Miles Walked
For those who don’t have a pedometer or want to set a target distance, mileage tracking is a great way to keep track of your steps.
A 5-mile walk is equivalent to about 10,000 steps. This is a great goal for anyone looking to establish an active and healthy lifestyle. But that’s just the goal. Any amount of walking is better than nothing.
It’s also convenient to unplug from your phone or tracker while walking. If we know that 1 lap around the block equals 1 mile, then 5 laps around the block equals 5 miles and about 10,000 steps. No matter how long it takes (some days may be slower or faster than others) or how many steps you take (some days may have longer strides than others), you You can definitely tell that you’ve walked the distance. It can be very rewarding.
Again, it’s important to reassess your distance goals regularly and make adjustments so you can see your progress. When starting your walking journey, start with 1 mile or 0.5 mile. If that is difficult, continue this distance for a week or two. Then increase your mileage goal by an additional 0.5 miles. Over time, you should find it easier to reach your distance and see a steady increase in the distance you walk.
Which is the best tracking method when walking for weight loss?
My professional experience has proven that walking for a set amount of time each day is most beneficial if weight loss is your goal. There are two reasons for this. First, make sure you set aside time to walk for exercise instead of accumulating steps in your daily life. This can also benefit your mental health as you can dedicate some time each day to de-stressing and focusing solely on walking. And our mental health plays a huge role in our weight loss success. , you can push yourself further as you get healthier.
Walking is very helpful for your overall health, but count the number of steps you take throughout the day, such as walking to the bathroom, walking to the refrigerator, walking to your car in the grocery store parking lot, or getting out of your car. Tracking can give erroneous results. Feeling active. It’s great to be physically active all day long, but it’s also important to carve out time for some heart-pumping cardio. We’ve seen step goals discourage this by making people believe they don’t need to exercise because they’ve achieved a certain number of steps during the day. It can give you a clear route, but if you don’t have the time or energy to reach that distance goal, it can be easier to make excuses to skip the walk.
Therefore, I recommend keeping track of meeting minutes for clients who are losing weight. Allow yourself a dedicated time to exercise and adjust your speed and distance based on your physical and mental state. A 30-minute walk looks different depending on where you are during the day. You can take it easy and focus on your mental health, or you can pack in intervals that get your heart rate up and burn calories.
But keep in mind that a successful fitness plan (and how you track your progress) is different for everyone. Many members of the Start TODAY community have lost weight, gained more energy and feel better than ever by tracking their steps and distance. If you’re feeling motivated by the goal of hitting a certain number of steps each day, that’s the way to go. Others like the mile challenge or the simplicity of logging a certain number of miles each day or week. So track what works best for you and be motivated to keep walking consistently.
This article originally appeared on TODAY.com.
