Aerobic walking workout: basics and benefit

An aerobic walking workout is one of the best walking techniques that’ll help increase your overall fitness. It is a type of walk which is brisk and long enough to enhance your heart rate and keep it there for a few minutes, preferably for half an hour to 50 minutes. The major elements of aerobic walking include walking very fast, sweating, and breathing very hard.

The aerobic walk should not be extended for more than 45 minutes to an hour and should include a quick warm-up session, a few stretching exercises, and a cooldown.

How to get started?

Here’s a step-by-step instruction on how you can start aerobic walking.

Start by walking at an easy pace for at least 10 minutes.
Stop for a few minutes and do some stretching exercises for five minutes to build your flexibility and improve your mobility.
Then, continue to walk at a pace that elevates your heart rate up to 70% of your maximum heart rate. This is the pace where you can speak in short sentences and breathe hard. Walk for about 50 minutes at this pace.
Cool down with 10 minutes of walking at an easy pace.
End the session with five minutes of easy stretching and flexibility workouts.

The primary benefits of aerobic walking:

Aerobic walking helps improve your overall aerobic fitness so that you can exercise more intensely and for an extended duration of time. It also develops your lung power and enhances the size as well as the number of blood vessels in your muscles. At aerobic walk intensity, a total of 50% of your calories that are burned are fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. The aerobic phase of your walking, however, should be no more than 50 minutes so as to prevent the buildup of lactic acid in your body.

If you want to walk longer than an hour, it is recommended to slow your pace at the ending phase of your walk.

Where can you do the aerobic walking workout and what all do you need?

You can do an aerobic walk on an indoor walking track, outside, or inside on a treadmill. You simply need to find a course where you can walk easily without any interruptions. You’ll also need flexible and comfortable running shoes for a fast walking pace and to bring your heart rate up. When it comes to clothes, on the other hand, make sure you wear light clothes that are comfortable and give you full freedom of movement and also absorb sweat. Since you’ll be sweating and getting tired a lot, don’t forget to carry a water bottle to keep your body hydrated. Drink water every 20 to 25 minutes to hydrate yourself.

When can you perform an aerobic walking workout?

You can do an aerobic walk workout every alternate day, and on the days in between, you can incorporate a weight training or strength training exercise instead. Combining workouts will give your body the proper time to replenish its strength and to avail the advantages of the workout.

How can you increase your aerobic walking pace and heart rate?

If you are walking on a treadmill, you may increase the incline and raise your heart rate so that you can achieve that benefit at a slower speed.
If you are walking outdoors, find a walking route that has stairs, hills and other terrains that can elevate your heart rate. Additionally, you may add fitness walking poles to raise your heart rate.

If you are a fit person, there is a chance that you may not be able to get your heart rate up to 70 to 80% of maximum heart rate by simply walking. In this case, you may want to add running intervals in between your walks to keep your heart rate high.

There are several reasons why increasing your aerobic walking pace can be beneficial to your health. Before just throwing yourself into an aerobic walk workout, figure out your fitness goals and determine your walking speed. Also, make sure you wear the right kind of shoes and clothes to keep the session comfortable.

Take time to correct your walking posture, give attention to your arm movement, and make sure there is no pain or injury in your body. Checking all this is a good investment of time as it will help keep your entire aerobic walking session safe and effective.