Yoga Articles Walking Exercise

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...also increases your heart rate, which burns calories faster.

While beginners should concentrate on distance rather than speed to build leg muscles and increase lung capacity, eventually you should also look to increasing walking speed to get more out of your workout.

Average walking speed

The average adult walking speed for women on level surfaces is about 3 miles per hour. The average speed for men is a little above 3.5 miles per hour. This difference is basically due to the average height for men. Longer legs spell a lengthier leg stride. Men also have larger leg muscle mass, which does most of the work to increase speed.

Why is walking speed so important?

Consider this: if you walk regularly, that is three times a week for 30 minutes or more; you gradually increase your personal average speed because you increase your cardiovascular endurance and build muscle mass - particularly in your legs. While both of these factors lead to walking faster, your walking speed will, in turn, determine how fast you burn calories.

However, do keep in mind that as you cover distance faster, through increased walking speed, you now have to either increase the distance you walk..

As you increase your speed, you might want to try other variations on the walking workout. Power walking or speed walking averages about 4.5 to 5.5 miles per hour. The next level is race walking, which is an Olympic sport. These speeds are closer to jogging or slow sprint but walking is easier on the knee joints than running. Even at these speeds, walking is still a low impact activity.

Digital measure

For those who of you who would prefer a digital instrument to do the calculations, there are pedometers, or walking speedometers, which can calculate distance and speed. Some brands will also give you heart rate and calories burnt during the workout. What you do want to check is the accuracy rate for these digital calculators. Some speedometers need to be calibrated according to your physical activity- walking versus running. Others rely on input of your stride length and will vary by 10% or more on distance, and therefore on speed.

While all fitness walkers work towards achieving greater walking speed, do keep in mind that the calories burnt due to increased speed may be only marginally more than regular walking. So do not get stressed about increasing speed. The goal should be a healthy diet combined with regular exercise. That is the only secret to burning calories and staying fit.

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