Footloose and Fit: Exercise Everyone Can Do

Here’s a quick quiz: What is an exercise you can do whatever your age or body type?

It’s an activity you can do right away even if you’ve never exercised a day in your life, and it’s just as good for you as for an avid exerciser. You can do it almost anywhere, any time, and you don’t need any special equipment or special skills. It fits into your schedule 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you can even do it with your dog. If you haven’t figured it out yet, think of something people used to do a lot more in the old days, and seem to be doing less and less now.

The answer: walking.

We are already experts at walking because we’ve done it our whole lives. With a little extra push, we can turn it into a hassle-free fitness program. My clients keep telling me that what stands between them and a fit body is time. Even with the best of intentions, they find themselves with little or no time to exercise because something always comes up. By creating a convenient walking plan, you’ll get an excellent workout and still have plenty of time--and energy--to enjoy other areas of your life.

Walking puts you in touch with your body, is a good stress regulator and is easy on your joints. You can use it to increase circulation, boost bone strength and keep your weight down. It’s especially good for pear-shaped women because walking helps to define and shape the lower body muscles without building them up.

The key to fitness walking is to go for speed. We’re not talking about a little stroll in the park. You’ll need to pump up the pace and keep it going for a period of time. Your goal can be a 3 to 4 mph pace for 35 to 45 minutes a day, done most days of the week. (You can check your pace with one of the many pedometers on the market today.) If you’re out of shape and just starting out, walk for 10 minutes every other day. After you’ve done this for a couple of weeks, progress to 15-minute, then 20-minute sessions. Eventually, you can increase the length and pace of your walks, and before you know it, you’ll be able to do it five or six days a week.

Overall, it is always a good idea to vary your workouts so your body is constantly surprised and challenged, which means you’ll get the most effective results. Your body has two major energy systems: one for short, hard bursts of effort and another for moderate, sustained exercise. When it comes to walking, you can apply this principle by doing two types of walking every week. On those busy days, focus on walking as fast as you can, even if it’s only 20 minutes. On days when you have more time, go for distance and walk at a moderately fast pace that you can maintain for at least 30 to 45 minutes. You can also combine both types of training in one workout. For example, walk one mile at a vigorous pace and then walk two miles at a slower but still challenging pace. Another way to vary intensity is to alternate your stride between a longer stance (really bend the front leg and extend the other behind you) and shorter, race-walking steps (small and quick). Listening to lively music while you walk is a great way to get energized and stay motivated. And don’t forget that your dog can be your best workout partner--he’s always ready for an outdoor adventure and will usually walk with you for as long and as far as you want. Plus, when you feel lazy, he will be sure to remind you that it’s time for your regular walk.

Every walking session should begin with a brief warmup to raise your body’s temperature, so spend five to six minutes at an easy pace to get blood flowing to the muscles and loosen any tension in the arms, legs, back and shoulders. Remember to use good posture and simple walking techniques. These techniques will help you develop a faster cadence that’s smooth and comfortable for your whole body:

* Walk with your feet hip-width apart, and plant your weight squarely on your heel first. Keep your heel on the ground as long as you can while you roll through the ball of your foot.

* Push off with your toes and squeeze your butt as you take another step. Keep your back straight and your abs pulled in.

* Bend your arms to 90 degrees, and swing them to match the rhythm of your stride. Make sure you don’t bring your arms across your body. Keep them moving only forward and backward, lifting the elbow up when it’s behind you. Allow your shoulders to swivel in opposition to your legs. This means you move your left shoulder forward as you stretch your right leg in front. This will bring more movement into your midsection and help you use more of your body at once.

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Here are a few of my favorite tips to keep it interesting:

* Hill walking: Walking up hills will build power and strength in the legs and will increase your cardiovascular endurance. When walking uphill or on an incline, hold your abdominals firm as you lean into the hill. Make sure you don’t lean backward because this puts stress on your lower back.

* Run-walking: More experienced walkers can begin run-walking. It’s great to intensify your workouts by using interval training. Start out by alternating five minutes of walking with one minute of running. Progress to walking for three minutes and running for two. Another way to challenge yourself is to run on flat ground and walk up and down the hills.

* Treadmill walking: Treadmill walking is ideal for indoor workouts. Usually 3.5 to 4 mph is a good place to start, with no incline. Begin to add a 2% incline and keep up the same speed. As you get stronger, increase the incline to about 6% to 8%, walking as fast as you can. A great benefit to treadmill walking is that you can go uphill and never have to come back down, which can be hard on the back and knees.

An invigorating walk is perfect for a day like today, when the gyms are closed but you want to work off some of the new year’s festivities. Don’t wait another minute. Start this year off on the right foot. You’ll enjoy the benefits long after you’ve kicked off your shoes.

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Karen Voight is a Los Angeles-based fitness expert whose latest video is “Abdominals & Back.” She can be reached by e-mail at kvoightla@aol.com. Her column appears the first Monday of the month.