Senior Exercise: How to Make Your Walk More Effective

By now, most seniors know that walking is great exercise. You can get tons of health benefits from walking. However, we tend to hit a personal "wall" when it comes to walking.

You either have to go farther, faster, or the benefits level off.

And, even with all the possible health benefits you can get from a reasonable daily walk, they are really nowhere near the top end of what you can experience.

However, in most people's minds, tapping into that upper range of benefits means going for more walks than they want to take, walking longer than they want to, or increasing the intensity in ways they don't want to!

So, the question is, "What can I do to make 'my walk' more effective?"

Well, the first thing IS to think about those three options a couple of sentences ago...walk longer, faster, more often, and in more challenging terrain (or settings on your treadmill). Even adding one extra walk a week, making your walks a few minutes longer, or making them just a wee bit more challenging could take your benefits up more than just a notch.

But, what if you either don't want to choose those options, or want to get even more out of 'your' walk.

Well, you can carry hand weights.

These can increase your calorie burn as much as 50%! Of course, you are probably either going to be carrying some hefty weights, using the earlier upgrades we mentioned, or both to get that much benefit.

Even so, simply adding some hand weights to your walk can still increase your calorie burn and the cardiovascular benefits as well.

Start light and slowly build up to heavier, but comfortable weights.

Another simple trick is to exercise before you walk.

This starts the calorie burn, and your walk simply adds on to the benefit. Since we need strength training for all-around fitness, a strength workout followed by a walk is a good option.

The strength workout does not need to be particularly intense, either. Grab a couple of dumbbells, do a few exercises with them and take off.

Remember a muscle can benefit from strength training as little as one day a week. With this in mind, you can create your own varied strength routine followed by cardio.

For example, you could exercise your chest and back on Monday, your legs and abdomen on Wednesday, and your arms on Friday.

One last tip since my wife just said we are leaving to see the grandkids in 30 minutes (Which means, "Get off the damn computer, Love!"). Exercise your core (abdominal area) before any walk. Your core will be exercised during the walk, and doing some form of abdominal exercise beforehand will increase the benefits of the walking.