INTERVAL TRAINING

One day recently, I caught the tail end of a news report on the benefits of interval training. For those unaware, interval training means taking whatever exercise one is doing and pumping it to an extreme for a small amount of time. So, if you're walking at your regular pace, you'd push yourself to walk much faster for, say, 2 minutes out of every 10 minutes. This is an idea I've used for myself.

The aerobic benefits of interval training are well established. Such bursts of activity increase heart rate, expand our lungs further, and improve endurance overall.

So, what's different about what I recently learned? The 'expert' indicated that all these health benefits can be obtained in just 6 minutes. Yep, SIX MINUTES. That sounds great. Six minutes during my walk and I'm a new person. What's the catch?

The catch is that the 6 minutes must be continuous and IT MUST HURT.

That's not what I want to hear. Pain accompanies many forms of exercise. You've heard the expression 'No Pain, No Gain'. But, pain is often an indication that one is overdoing, that there is some physical problem that needs to be addressed, or that the exercise is being done incorrectly. In arm curls, for instance, the arms must be held tightly next to the body, especially if holding any weights. Having the elbows away from the body during curls increases the dynamic weight of the held objects and works muscles not intended to support such weight. What do you get for that? Pain - either now or at some future time.

I must look further into this Six Minute interval training - that for me would be a sustained six minute sprint. Not sure I'm willing to do that. But, I AM willing to work up to that six minutes if an investigation reveals that the benefits are really as described in the initial report.

What about you? Are you up for a 6 minute burst?

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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

THE TEN PERCENT SOLUTION

I think there was a book with a title like this years ago. Made me think of that when I was listening to something on TV (nope, not actually watching it). The 'expert' was talking about increasing our activity level by 10% each week. Now, there's an idea that would likely work great for a 'beginner' at the walking thing - or for any other formerly sedentary person who wants to become more active.

So, if you walk 100 yards this week, you walk 110 yards next week.

If you walk 30 minutes this week, walk 33 minutes this week and 36.3 minutes next week. Well, round it up or down to suit you.

Actually, to make it really simple, just keep increasing based on your starting figure. That would work too. So, if you walk 30 minutes this week, just keep increasing by 3 minutes each week. Determine what your longest 'reasonable' time available is and shoot for that. Once you get there - say 1 hour per walk - stay there and pick up 3 minutes of some other activity - ride a stationary bike, pick up some soup cans for your walk, whatever. Even something as simple as balancing on one foot (stand near the kitchen sink so you can grab hold and not fall) for 3 minutes will be a challenge for many and will increase your overall health and fitness level.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

HIKER CHICKS

In the October 8, 2009 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there is an article about a group of women who have walked all 30 of the local 30/30 Trails - supposedly trails that can be walked in 30 minutes. This group met at a local Curves Gym whose owner had the idea to get outside the gym for fitness.

Wow. You think she read my blog? The 12 women vary in age from 48-76, proving that sedentary middle-age can be avoided with some simple effort - and with the help of a few friends to make it easier.

I'm going to check out the 30/30 Trails. I wasn't familiar with them. Now, I think I'll check them out.

Today (and yesterday, and the day before, and....), it's been rainy and dreary, necessitating walks at the mall. Tonight, I dance!

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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

WHY SHOULD I WALK??

Why should you walk? Because your body was designed for walking - you have TWO FEET AND TWO LEGS. Because it's good for your heart, lungs, blood pressure, blood flow, and MOST IMPORTANT, the way you'll feel.

Walk because it's free, easy, accessible. It even becomes fun.

Walk because you CAN. If you're sedentary, if you're unhappy, if you're between jobs, if your health is not great - if you don't walk, you're likely to lose the ability to.

Check out those scooter ads on TV. They are really necessary for some people. But, I've NEVER seen a patient (I work in a doctor's office attached to a very large hospital) who has gotten one of those darn things and went on to get rid of it and walk.

My own brother has a very damaged leg due to a car/motorcycle collision years ago. He has trouble walking and is always in pain. He wanted one of those scooters to get to his mailbox. My wise husband strongly advised my brother against getting the scooter. His advice went something like this, "If you get one of those things, pretty soon you won't be ABLE to walk to the mailbox."

There are plenty of people out there with health issues that make walking difficult or impossible. This message is not for those for whom walking is impossible. But, if walking is difficult for you today, imagine what it'll be like in a few months or years if you don't move your body now!

So, stepping off my soapbox and into my walking shoes, I leave you with this thought.

If you have feet and legs that work, get walking. It doesn't get any better than that. Just ask an amputee........


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

HOW TO WORK IT

If you are new to this blog and new to walking, please go back and read some of the oldest posts. I believe you'll find some good tools there. But, some of them are worth repeating from time to time.

Walking 10,000 steps a day (about 5 miles) is what is now recommended for all of us. Five miles seems like a lot. So, set a shorter goal and work up from there.

My actual goal is 6,000 steps a day. I actually measure (by time) only about 3,000 steps. That's the duration of the walk for which I lace on my walking shoes. The other 2,000 steps come from waking here and there as part of my normal activities.

If you're sedentary - I didn't say lazy - you'll walk far less. If you are tied to a desk or tie yourself to an easy chair, you need to find ways to add steps to your daily routine.

Start with baby steps:
*Walk during your break at work.
*Walk up and down the stairs rather than take the elevator. If you work on the 15th floor, take the elevator to 14 and walk up one flight.
*Walk during commercials on TV.
*Walk for 5 minutes after dinner.
*Walk 2 minutes every day this week, 3 minutes every day next week, and so forth. Track this on a calendar so you can see how your walking time is expanding.
*Shoot for at least 20 minutes of sustained walking (all at one time) every day - but BREAK THAT DOWN into smaller chunks til you get there. It's not a race. Use your own judgment about how long you should be walking each day. Just increase that amount as soon as you become comfortable with the distance/time you are walking today.

WHY SHOULD YOU WALK? TUNE IN TOMORROW.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

FRIENDS WORK

As regular readers of my ramblings know, I have several walking buddies. My walk-week looks something like this:

Monday - Steph
Tuesday - Laurie
Wednesday - myself or anyone who's available
Thursday - Sally & Betsey at the mall
Friday - Climb all the stairs at work then linedance at 7 PM
Saturday - Sally
Sunday - Sally or Steph

Where'd Kathy go? I miss her, but she's now working full time. We haven't been able to catch up with each other lately.

What about Anngie? She's still on my mind. Got to check her schedule and see what works for both of us. Anngie - if you're reading this. What about Wednesdays??

Sally is the person (along with my mother) who got me interested in walking. She also does water aerobics, step aerobics, and lifts. Go Sally!

Laurie and I reconnected after years of going our separate ways. She's into tapdancing, spinning, and kickboxing.

Steph and I used to work together and she formerly did a variety of workouts - walking, water walking, and more - but her work has really taken over her life. She makes our Monday evening walks a priority, often leaving piles of work on her desk. (She KNOWS what really matters!)

Betsey is a very physically active gal who can 'break' a 15 hand show horse. So, our mall-walking is a breeze for her. Plus, she walks her pack of beagles on the weekends.

So, what's in this for YOU. Call up your old friends. Talk to other walkers at the park. Make some walking connections. I look forward to visiting with everyone one of my walking buddies - who are not just my buddies because they walk with me. But, our hour of walking each week allows us to remain current with each other's lives and makes an hour that I look forward to.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.