Walk
this Way
For a high-intensity workout
that's gentle on your joints, get walking
Our
first steps are among the most celebrated milestones of our youth. Yet, as we
grow up, we take walking for granted, which is puzzling, since walking is perhaps
the most effective, and simplest, fitness routine. All you need is a good pair
of walking shoes and socks, and you're off.
"The biggest misconception
about walking is that it can't be a high-intensity exercise, that you can't get
a good workout," says Joanne Dow, a high school track coach and mother of two
from New Hampshire. "That's not true at all."
Dow knows. At 44, the onetime
competitive swimmer was the senior member of the U.S. track team at the 2008 Beijing
Olympic games. There, Dow clocked the fastest time ever for a U.S. woman in the
Olympic 20K race walk. But she says her husband, Tim, is a true poster child for
walking's benefits.
"My husband played football," says Dow. "Now that he's
51, he's that business traveler who's in hotels all the time. He tried to run,
but his body, especially his back, couldn't handle it. Instead, he does fitness
walking."
Just Do It
The
health benefits of walking are myriad. It's ideal for easing into a more active
lifestyle, working the large muscle groups of the lower body, including the calves,
thighs, hips, and gluteus maximus, says Mark Fenton, author of The Complete
Guide to Walking for Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness.
"The Surgeon
General recommends that every American adult get at least 30 minutes of physical
activity every day, or 150 minutes a week," Fenton notes. "You benefit from more,
but if you get at least 30 minutes a day, five days or more, it reduces your risk
for cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, osteoporosis, clinical depression,
and a growing list of cancers."
Research indicates you can break your sessions
up into smaller increments, such as three 10-minute walks each day, and get the
same health benefits. The key is intensity. "Walking very briskly can be a great
workout," Fenton says. "For many, it's the best workout because it's low-impact,
but it's weight bearing. That helps maintain bone density."
To ramp up
your cardiovascular system, pick up the pace. "Cruising along at 3 miles an hour
— a social walk — is going to burn about 240-250 calories an hour," says Fenton,
citing statistics for a 150-pound person. "At 4 miles an hour, you can burn up
to 400 calories an hour."
Since walkers always have at least one foot on
terra firma, walking is gentler on the joints than running. Race walkers hit the
ground with a force of about one to one and a half times their body weight (compared
with three to four times for runners). "That's why you don't hear about walkers
having stress fractures or knee problems," Fenton says. "The real beauty of it,
though, is that walking is a do-anywhere, anytime exercise."
Do
It Right
To get the most out of your walking workout,
use good mechanics. Stand tall, lift your chin, and pull your shoulders back,
opening your chest and easing pressure on your lower back. Concentrate on quicker
rather than longer strides, swinging your arms — bent at the elbow at right angles
— to maintain rhythm. At the end of each stride, consciously push off your toes.
"Fitness walking is a very smooth glide," Fenton says. "Most people find it's
very comfortable. The only challenge is that their heart rate goes up pretty quickly."
Get acclimated to that higher heart rate by slowly introducing quick spurts
of "power walking" into your regimen. "Start with a five- to seven-minute warm-up,
then do some short bursts," says Dow. "Depending on your fitness level, it can
be 30 seconds, a minute, two minutes. Do those bursts, then recover for an equal
amount of time."
For beginners, Fenton recommends a three-step plan. First,
walk whenever you can, regardless of duration. Make it a habit. Next, add time,
without worrying about intensity or technique. Third, incorporate speed, employing
proper form.
Fast-Walk
Your Hotel
If you're traveling, contact your hotel ahead
of time for walking routes. "One of the first things I do when I get to the hotel
is ask for a local map and get out and walk," Fenton says. "I get my exercise,
and I also orient myself to the place. I see much more on foot than I would if
I drove around."
Another resource is MapMyRun.com.
This informative site allows walkers to "plug in any zip code and clock out any
distance you want," says Dow.
Travelers who stick close to their accommodations
still have options. "Hotels are perfectly designed for fast walking," says Dixie
Stanforth, a University of Texas kinesiology lecturer. "They have long halls that
serve like little mazes, and they have to have fire exits with stairwells. I recommend
taking the elevator from whatever floor you're staying on down to the second floor.
Fast-walk the perimeter, then hit the stairwell, take that flight of stairs to
the third floor, and walk that floor quickly. So you're doing flat walking alternating
with stair climbing."
The fitter you are, the more time you can spend on
the stairs. One caveat: Always take the elevator down. "It's going downstairs
that actually puts more stress on your knees," says Stanforth.
—
Brion O'Connor
+
Click to enlarge On
the Level in Lisbon
This run through Portugal's hilly
capital will keep you on an even keel With Lisbon's numerous steep hills,
walking almost anywhere means going up or down, and usually both. For leisurely
joggers, then, running routes need to be chosen with care. This six-mile-long
course mostly steers clear of the city's ups and downs.
Stretch at the bottom
of Parque Eduardo VII, in central Lisbon near the Parque metro station. From there,
head across the wide Praça Marquês de Pombal roundabout and onto the mile-long
Avenida da Liberdade. Run down the length of this boulevard, 100 yards wide and
lined with outdoor café terraces and 19th-century buildings, to Praça dos Restauradores.
As you pass through this square, be sure to notice the Éden Cinema, a late 1920s
art deco building, and the famed Elevador da Glória, a steep, busy funicular that
runs up to the Bairro Alto neighborhood.
Continue about an eighth of a mile
to the bustling, rectangular Praça Dom Pedro IV — also known as Rossio, this has
been the city's main square since medieval times — and onto the pedestrian Rua
Augusta. You're now in the Baixa neighborhood. Rebuilt following a devastating
1755 earthquake that killed 40,000 people out of a population 270,000, this neo-classical
grid wedged into the cleft of the city's seven hills remains the heart of Lisbon.
Cross under the monumental arch and onto to Praça do Comércio, a grand square.
By this point, nearly two miles into your route, you've reached Rio Tejo, the
wide river that curves around Lisbon and flows into the Atlantic a few miles downstream.
Turn right at the end of the square and follow the river along Avenida da Ribeira
das Naus. Cut around Cais do Sodré Station on the riverside, and follow Avenida
de Brasilia along the river about two miles to Ponte 25 de Abril, a 7,500-foot-long
suspension bridge. Just before the bridge, turn left into the Doca Santo de Amaro
and run in front of the row of former warehouses, now converted into popular restaurants
and bars. Continue under the bridge and keep following the river along Avenida
de Brasilia for a final mile and a half to Belém, where Vasco da Gama set sail
for India in 1497 in search of a sea route to the Orient. The run ends in the
Praça do Império, the lovely garden fronting the city's finest, most grandiose
monument, the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, built in gratitude for da Gama's successful
return.
After stretching in the park, complete your cool-down by walking a
few blocks to Casa Pastéis de Belém for a pastel de Belém. The small custard-cream
tart, served warm and sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon, was created
by the monastery's sisters, and first served to outsiders in this very café in
1837. It's hard to imagine they've ever tasted better — especially at the end
of a run.
— Jeff Koehler
Getting
There: Continental offers daily nonstop service to Lisbon from its hub in
New York/Newark.
Illustrations: Lara Tomlin (runner);
Eve Steccati (map)
