Walking is commonly underestimated and skipped by people who want to lose weight because they think it can’t help them burn many calories. But I’m here to prove them wrong!
Here are the 8 easy tweaks to burn more calories on your walk. Some of them can help walkers burn nearly 400 calories per hour. Read on!
Incline Walking
Incline walking is an easy tweak to help you burn more calories on your walk because it elevates the heart rate, which takes more energy than walking on a flat, even surface.
The higher the incline level, the more the energy taken, resulting in the more the calories burnt. You can try walking up a real incline outside, using an uphill setting on a treadmill, or walking upstairs.
If walking for one hour uphill at 3.5MPH, a 130-pound person burns 354 calories while a 205-pound person burns up to 557 calories.
Aside from weight loss, incline walking brings many other benefits, such as:
- Building quads and calf muscles
- Enhancing your stamina
- Reducing the pressure put on your joints to hence decrease the risks of injury, especially in overweight people.
Walk On Uneven Surfaces
This is ideal for external walking; such as a walk along a trail.
The random changes in the walking terrain require your entire walk harder than usual: your brain has to process all the obstacles along the path to gauge what it will take to step over them.
Meanwhile, your core and leg muscles have to continuously engage and coordinate to keep your body balance and stability over uneven terrain.
The hard work inevitably takes more energy, therefore, more calories are burnt.
Walking along a trail also helps you increase proprioception – the awareness of the body position and movement of your mind regarding the surroundings – to hence increase your self-esteem.
Walk At Faster Speeds
If there’s no hill, slope, trail nearby but just flat pavements, walking at faster speeds over a certain duration is a good alternative to help you burn more calories.
Studies show that during speed walking, your heart rate is increased significantly, therefore, your body is forced to burn more calories.
When walking for 60 minutes at a brisk pace (around 3.5MPH), a 130-pound person burns 224 calories while a 205-pound person burns 353 calories. At the same duration, at 3.0 MPH, a 130-pound person burns 194 calories while a 205-pound person burns 306 calories.
Walking at a casual pace burns the least calories: a 130-pound person burns 117 calories while a 205-pound person burns 185 calories.
To increase your calorie-burning results, try varying the speed while walking.
For example, alternating 5 minutes of brisk-pace walking with 5 minutes of moderate-pace walking and 5 minutes of casual-pace walking.
Walking A Dog
Walking a dog counts as an exercise, not saying that it helps you burn more calories than conventional walking.
It is estimated that walking a dog burns around 200-250 calories per hour, which is 50% to 70% more effective than walking alone at a casual pace.
Dogs are generally an active animal, especially when they’re allowed an outdoor walk after a long day staying indoors. They commonly run, walk fast, or stop, then sniff something along the path, which varies your walking speeds at a time.
As mentioned above, walking at various speeds helps you burn more energy.
I highly recommend pet owners should try this activity with their dogs. Not only does it make your walking more interesting, but you two also get healthier together.
Wearing Wellies
Wellies or Wellington boots are a leather boot type adapted from Hessian boots with a military riding boot style.
Wearing wellies while walking restricts your foot movement, making engaging an active foot and open ankle more difficult. As a result, your body has to ignite more calories and focus on the hip lift to keep balance and stability.
This trick is also a good way to strengthen and tone up your glutes and core muscles.
Add Weights
I have learned this tweak from hiker exercisers who usually wear a heavy backpack and walk to enhance their endurance and body strength – which is a way to prepare physical health for upcoming backpacking trips.
But with regular walkers, you don’t have to challenge yourself that much.
Trying to wear hand weights is a good way to help you burn more calories. Depending on your health, choose the right weights.
With people who are suffering joint issues or beginner walkers, trying wearing heavier walking clothes is good to start.
Walking With Poles
While walking along a trail, use hand poles to exercise your arms at the same time. Therefore, more calories are burnt. According to research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning, walking with hand poles is 67% more effective calorie-burning than normal walking.
Waving Your Arms While Walking
If you’re looking for an equipment-free way to increase the number of calories burnt, wave your arms while walking.
It might look a bit odd but worth a try. According to the American Council on Exercise, by pumping your hands vigorously when you’re walking, more intensity is added to the exercise.
Conclusion
I have just walked you through the 8 easy tweaks to burn more calories on your walk. For more useful tips and tricks on fitness training, please follow my blog. I also want to hear more from you, so please let me know through the comment section about your thoughts. Thanks for reading!
