Walking is the hot new cardio exercise, don’t ya know. Easier on your body than running, cheaper than the gym and being a lot more peaceful than boot camp, it works wonders on the muscle and the mind.
And if you’re getting your walk on this summer and need a little motivation to start, we’re here to help. Here’s your guide to everything you need to know to fit walking into your life, from the fitness tracker to buy to the podcasts to listen to how you should actually walk to get the most out of your daily stroll.
How much you should walk
According to the experts, you should try and walk half an hour every day, or for an hour four days a week. Which sounds like a lot, but if you walk a bit further than your nearest bus stop, or get out on your lunch break, that’s actually totally do-able.
How fast you should walk
That HIIT stuff everyone’s been banging on about for the last couple of years applies to walking, too. If you want to get the most out of your workout, try changing pace; for example, walk one mile fast then two more slowly.
The activity tracker to help you keep up to speed with what you’ve been doing
It’s all very well doing all this walking, but wouldn’t it be nice to know how far you’ve walked, how many steps you’ve taken, how many calories you’ve burned and even see how well you’ve been sleeping?
The Garmin Vivosmart is an activity tracker with smart notifications that let’s you do all of that and more. You can check your daily stats and sync it with your smartphone. Plus, it’s got over a year’s battery life. Clever, huh?!
The trainers to wear to look after your feet
It depends where you’ll be walking as to what shoes you’ll need. For road walking (to and from work, for instance) get yo’self a pair of nice lightweight ones (that you can also fit in your handbag when you go out... see, we think of everything.)
But if you’re going off-piste and the terrain is rocky then you need a more solid pair of boots that support your ankles, too.
The podcasts to make you feel all clever
We <3 a good podcast here at The Debrief HQ. The time-starved girls’ best friend, you can get your science on with Radio Lab, who ask all life’s big questions. If you fancy yourself as an amateur film critic, then check out Bonnie and Maude who deliver weekly episodes dissecting the world of film, old and new. And last but not least, This American Life. Get the inside scoop on all walks of American life, it’s eye opening (or is that ear opening… sorry) and you won’t want to stop listening.
The Spotify playlist to give you a bounce in your step
The soundtrack to your walk is, of course, extremely important. The sassier the music, the sassier your walk, which can only be a good thing. Listen to this ‘Walking like a badass’ playlist and work it.
Follow Tabi on Twitter @TabiJGee
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.