5 Best Walking Exercises for Men with Weighted Ankles for Fat Loss
Walking is a popular form of exercise, as it's easy, and the equipment needed is simple. You don't need any fancy machines or weights to get started; all you need is a pair of comfortable shoes.
A small investment in some inexpensive ankle weights can take your walking workout to the next level. Not only will they help strengthen your legs and improve your balance, but they will also help you burn more calories. Here are a few easy ways to incorporate ankle weights into your next walk:
Ankle Weight Exercises For Fat Loss
Here are five such workouts:
#1 Walking Lunge
To do a walking lunge:
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Take a big step forward, bending your front knee till it reaches 90 degrees, and your back leg straightens behind you as you step off the heel of your back foot.
- Make sure to keep both shoulders squared forward and hips facing forward throughout this movement.
- You will find that if you bend at the waist too much, it will be harder for you to get into position without losing balance or falling over.
- Push off of your front foot while lowering yourself back into the starting position by allowing your weight to shift onto both feet (the leg on which you did not lunge).
- Lower yourself down into a squatting position before returning to an upright posture.
- Repeat 30 times before switching sides, and repeat again for 30 seconds.
#2 Weighted Squat with Leg Lift
How to perform the exercise:
- Hold the dumbbells by your sides, and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
- Slowly lower yourself into a squat till your thighs are parallel to the floor or lower, keeping your back straight and chest lifted throughout. Avoid rounding or over-arching it (i.e., don't pull on your neck).
- Push off from the floor with both legs, and return to a standing position for one rep. Repeat for ten more reps using medium weight
- Lift your leg as you squat back up. The use of ankle weights will challenge you as you lift your leg up.
#3 Step-Up
Step-ups are a good exercise for you to do if you're looking for an intense lower body workout. It works the quads, hamstrings, and glutes, strengthening all three at once.
Here's how it's done:
- Stand in front of a bench or step that's about hip height. Take a long stride, and place one foot on top of the bench/step (as shown in pic).
- Push up with your leg to return to the starting position to complete one rep.
- Make sure you don't let either knee bend over while doing this exercise, as that puts too much pressure on them, which can cause injury.
If performing step-ups proves too tricky due to an injury etc., simply place both feet together onto the ground instead. Jump up onto the bench/step before jumping back down again, which will count as one rep.
Make sure not to bend your knees otherwise it won't count as two reps but rather just one, as there wouldn't be any movement involved other than standing still on the bench/step platform. Jump off again onto the ground (so basically no actual movement).
#4 Toe-Tap
Toe-taps are a simple exercise requiring no equipment and can be done anywhere.
They work the calf muscles, which is an important muscle group to strengthen if you want to prevent ankle injuries or reduce inflammation in your lower legs after walking or running.
It's done as follows:
Toe-taps involve standing with your feet together. Lift one leg off the ground, and tap it against your opposite leg. You can also do toe-taps while sitting down by lifting one foot off of the floor and tapping it against the heel of another foot that’s still on the floor.
For example: if you want to do this exercise while sitting down at work during lunch break, try placing both feet on either side of a chair so they are dangling over each other (or just dangle one foot in front of another). As long as there's enough room for two people's legs (and/or furniture) underneath them, you're all set. Do five sets of 20 taps per day to get started with this simple workout routine.
#5 Reverse Lunge with a Twist
This exercise begins with you standing straight and holding your dumbbells by your sides.
Place one foot behind you, and squat down while keeping the back leg straight. Inhale as you lower yourself into the squat position. Exhale as you rise up from it. Do as many repetitions as possible on one side before switching to the other side.
That can be done in sets of two or three repetitions per set depending on how fatigued your muscles get after each set of lunges. If they become too fatigued for more reps, repeat till those numbers have been reached using lighter weights than normal.
Takeaway
Walking is a great exercise to get your body moving and burn some calories. If you want to challenge yourself while walking, try adding ankle weights. They will help build muscle in your legs and work on strengthening them as well as improving your balance.
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