Walking is by far one of the most common types of cardiovascular (cardio) exercise, as it’s easy to perform, requires little or no equipment, and can conveniently be incorporated into your everyday routine. Through its beneficial effects on the heart, lungs and blood vessels, regular walking has been shown to substantially reduce the risk of obesity and numerous chronic diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and various forms of cancer.
Regularly walking is also a good way to increase the number of calories your body burns each day, which is absolutely critical for weight loss and long-term weight control. However, in spite of the appealing nature and many health benefits of walking, performing continuous bouts at the same speed day in and day out will eventually lead to a plateauing effect, which can significantly hinder your progress over time. This holds true especially if you limit yourself to walking on flat terrain.
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Still, if walking remains your preferred form of cardio exercise, there are countless solutions for avoiding that dreaded weight loss plateau. Here are three of them.
1. PICK UP THE PACE
If your fitness goals are centered on losing weight, 30 minutes or even an hour of leisure walking (2.0-2.5 mph) just won’t cut it, unless you have a health condition that limits your overall mobility. Think about it. If you regularly walk to work or school at a 2.5 mph pace, walking at this same pace during an exercise session won’t be of much benefit to you because your body is already used to it. I see this all the time in gym settings. In fact, some people actually put in a brisk walk to get to a treadmill only to walk slower when they get on it. If you don’t have any physical limitations, your walking speed for exercise should start at 3.0 mph and that’s at the very least.
