Walking With Weights

 

Although it is supposed to be spring, I am sitting here in my house, watching the snow fall for the third day in a row.  This morning it cleared just enough for a couple of planes to come in before the weather closed in again.  Pretty soon, it will be nice enough that I'll start walking a lot more and when that happens I tend to use my weights way less.  I decided that I need to figure out how to walk using weights so that I keep my bones dense and keep myself more in shape.

When you add weights to your daily walk, it can provide an additional challenge to your workout while helping you to burn more calories but you have to be careful or you could injure yourself. When you begin walking with weights, choose the light ones weighing between one and two pounds.  You can increase the weight as your fitness level improves. Furthermore, using weights can help you strengthen your muscles while walking so your walk is now doing double duty.

Although it is easy to carry the small hand weights, look for those that have a strap to help you carry it or look for weights you can wear on  your wrists  otherwise you might drop the hand weights and hurt yourself.  You can also look at using ankle weights that strap to your ankle and provide resistance to your legs at the same time.

No matter whether you choose one or both types of weights, make sure you maintain good posture and form while walking with the weights.  Always keep your back straight, your shoulders relaxed and avoid swinging the weights otherwise you might end up off balance. In addition, shorten your stride when walking with weights so there is less strain put on your joints.  Furthermore, make sure you do not use the weights for more than 20 to 30 minutes when walking but only use them once or twice a week so you don't hurt your joints or muscles.

It is important that you cool down properly after your workout and take time to stretch out your muscles so you don't start cramping. If at anytime, you experience any pain or discomfort while using weights, step back and decrease the weight, check your technique and if it persists, talk to your doctor. Adding the weight will increase the overall intensity of your workout.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.