Health

Walking as Exercise

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:40 AM EST / CBS

-- We know many people can't walk and chew gum at the same time; well, some people don't even know the proper way to walk. On Friday's edition of The Early Show, fitness contributor Minna Lessig shows us the proper way to power walk so you can get the most out of a walk workout.

Walking V. Running

A walking workout, done at a high intensity, can be just as effective as a running workout with less risk of injury! According to Mark Fenton, editor-at-large of Walking Magazine, in a study done at the University of Colorado in Boulder, half the participants ran, half walked, four times a week, 40 minutes at a time, for 28 weeks. Both the walking and running were done at target heart rate. At the end of the 28 weeks, both the walkers and runners showed the same improvements physically. But, on average, the runners missed 11 days of workouts due to injury while the walkers missed one and a 1/2 days due to injury.

Tips to Get Fit

Tall posture.
Quicker steps (not longer strides!)
Bend your arms. Swing your arms from your waistband to chest height.
Push off your toes at the end of each step.

Quicker Steps and Burning More Calories

(These figures vary depending on height, weight and age.)
115 - 120 steps per minutes means your traveling at 3 mph. In a half hour, you're burning roughly 140 calories.

135 steps a minutes means you're traveling at 4 mph. So, in a half hour, you're burning 190 calories.

This can help you calculate how many calories you're burning if you're not on a track or treadmill.