Burn up to 25% more calories
Tips and Tricks
Walking and running are the quickest ways we know to burn up to 25
percent more calories, boost your energy instantly, and sculpt lean,
sexy muscles - even your abs! Here, everything you need to know about
the best new gear, injury-prevention, speed tips.
1. To get started, stride right.
Leaning
into each stride increases momentum, which makes everything feel easier,
even as you go faster. How far you lean depends on your pace. If you
walk, hinge forward slightly from the hips. If you run, move from the
ankles. “Keep this forward-leaning position throughout your run or
walk,” says Zika Palmer, an exercise physiologist and confounder of ZAP
Fitness in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. “It should almost feel like you
have to take a step to catch yourself from falling.”
2. Keep your abs tight.
“All movement starts from your core, so it makes sense to keep it
strong and engaged while you walk or run,” says Ellie Herman, owner of
Ellie Herman Pilates Studios and creator of the Walk-ilates system,
which combines walking and Pilates. To actively engage your abs, imagine
zipping up a pair of jeans from your pubic bone to your navel and
keeping them tight during the work out. You’ll tone your abs, legs, and
butt.
3. Flex your toes.
Pull your toes up as you step, says Dixie Stanforth, an exercise
physiologist in the department of kinesiology at the University
of Texas in Austin. You’ll recruit more leg muscles and propel
yourself forward to go faster, she says. Another way to pick up speed
(and blast calories): Bend your elbows 90 degrees and keep them close to
you, swinging from your shoulders. “This speeds up your arms so the legs
will follow,” says Stanforth.
4. Challenge yourself.
“You should experience some huffing and puffing, even if you’re
walking,” says Vicki Harber, PhD, a professor of physical education and
recreation at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada .
Out with a friend?
“You should be a bit breathless as you talk,” says Harber. Another
way to tell if you’re at the right pace - strap on a pedometer. Take at
least 3,000 to 4,000 steps in a half hour and you’ll be within the right
zone, report researchers at Arizona State University.
5. Update your play
list.
Into Bach, not Beyonce? Give her a shot: Adding faster, more upbeat
tunes to your iPod may help you to run harder and faster, according to
new research published in the Journal of Sports Sciences. It may also
help reduce your rate of perceived exertion (how hard the exercise
feels): A study at the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at the University
of Kansas, Lawrence, found that music can lower this by up to 10
percent.
6. Increase the
incline.
Even a 2 percent higher setting bumps up your calorie burn by 20
percent per minute, says Mitchell Whaley, PhD, an exercise physiologist
at
Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. You’ll not only burn more
calories than you would on a flat surface, but you’ll also strengthen
your legs and butt. For the best results, slightly shorten your stride,
lean forward, and pump your arms.
7. Add weight to
your walk.
Forget holding dumbbells:
A better way to burn calories while you walk is to wear a weighted
vest, according to recent research. A study from the University of Iowa
in Iowa City found that subjects who wore a vest that was about 20
percent of their body weight burned 14 percent more calories.
Translation: a 140-pound woman might burn about 30 more calories on a
45-minute walk. Experts suggest you start slow to reduce injury risk:
Begin by wearing three to five percent of your weight (for a 140-pound
woman, that’s four to seven pounds) and increase by two to five percent
every few weeks until you reach 20 percent (28 pounds).
8. Go off the beaten
path.
Take a walk in the woods and burn about 500 calories per hour while
hiking at average speed - carry a pack and zap even more. If the trails
are covered with snow, strap on a pair of snowshoes and blast about 670
calories per hour. “You can saunter or speed along, tackle tough terrain
or walk,” says Elena Rover, author of The Chelsea Piers Fitness
Solution. To up the intensity, go trail running or cross-country skiing. |