Walking is a good habit which, when combined with a healthy diet, is also a great way to lose weight. But there is a simple trick to make our daily walk even more effective.
To maximize weight loss during a walk we should vary the pace, alternating fast walking and slow walking.
Studies have shown that high intensity interval training ( HIIT ), when not performed to the extreme, of course, is one of the most effective weight loss exercises. A large meta-analysis published in the journal Sports Medicine found that high intensity training significantly reduced total, abdominal and visceral fat mass, with no gender differences.
Although burpees and rope jumping are much more extreme workouts than walking, the same principles also apply to a simple walk: by varying the intensity of the exercise and causing the heart rate to increase, we can achieve greater benefits on loss. of weight.
But how exactly should we walk? Tom Holland, exercise physiologist and author of ” The Micro-Workout Plan ” recommends this sequence :
- walking at a slow pace for 10 minutes (a kind of warm-up)
- increase your stride intensity for 30 seconds, walking as fast as possible
- slow down again so that you have a fair amount of recovery time
- repeat the cycle for another 9 times
Once you have finished your workout, you can walk for another 10 minutes at a slow pace.
Those who want to increase the effectiveness of this alternating walk even more can perform the intervals in a hilly area, i.e. walk for 30 seconds on a slope and then go back for 30 seconds at a normal pace.
