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Staying Fit
Get Walking!A pedometer can motivate you to take extra steps toward good healthWalking is a great strategy for fitness and health. It’s proven heart-healthy, it’s low-impact to protect your joints, and it’s easy to do. But how far, how fast and how often should you walk? And how do you keep track of your distance?The answers depend on your condition and your goals, says internist Zubina Mawji, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “If your goal is to lose weight, walking may be just one of many strategies,” she says. “On the other hand, if you want to go from a sedentary to a non-sedentary lifestyle, you’ll need to start more slowly.” For cardiovascular benefit, the ultimate goal is five 30-minute walks a week at about 4 to 5 miles per hour. But take your time getting there, Mawji says. “Start with 20-minute walks three times a week and build up gradually, especially if you’re older. The first time out, don’t push so hard that you’re in pain or feeling winded afterward.” When it comes to distance, consider a pedometer, says Amy Virus, coordinator of Lehigh Valley Hospital’s new pedometer-based Get Walking! course. “You strap the little meter on your waist and it counts your footsteps,” she says. “Wear it all day or just for your walking workouts. It’s a great tool for setting goals and staying moti-vated—and you see the fruits of your labor, so you can’t lie to yourself!” In Get Walking!, Virus advises beginners to set realistic goals based on their current activity level, then add 500 to 1,000 steps daily to reach an ultimate target of 10,000 steps a day (about five miles). “That’s not as hard as it may sound,” Virus says. “It’s amazing how those footsteps add up when you start adding little walks to your everyday life.” You can get a basic pedometer, one that simply counts your steps, for about $26. More advanced models count distance, estimate calories burned and stride length, and may include timers and speed estimators.
Want to Know More? To register for Get Walking!
Call 610-402-CARE. This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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