Walking is an amazing exercise. It helps strengthen your muscles and many of your internal organs. This keeps your body functioning so that you can live your busy life. Many men and women want to lose weight with walking. While it is possible to lose weight with simple walking there are times when you will hit a plateau, a period where you do not lose any weight. Speed walking can help you break through that plateau and continue in your weight loss goals.

Speed walking is also called power walking or fitness walking. When you are ready to up your intensity level from walking, first start interval walking. After you have hit a plateau with interval walking add speed walking to really amp up your walking program. Studies have shown that speed walking can burn almost as many calories as jogging. The bonus is that it has been found to be easier on your joints than jogging or running.

How to Speed Walk

First make sure you are ready to sustain speed walking by implementing interval walking. This will ensure success when you start speed walking. Increase the amount of time that you speed walk until you are able to sustain that pace for your entire workout. The speed to aim for is about 4 to 6 mph. You need to walk like you are late for an appointment and you need to get there fast. The higher the intensity the more calories you will burn.

Remember your form. It is important to walk tall and keep your head up. Remember to swing your arms. The most important part of speed walking is remembering that the motion should come from your hips. You should not take long, uncomfortable strides to go faster but, instead, move from your hips to add speed to your walk. When you first start out this hip motion may feel a bit odd but with time and practice it will start feeling more natural.

Walking is such a wonderful way to stay healthy and it can be fun. You can fight walking boredom by switching the type of walking you do occasionally. There are often other walkers at local parks, in your neighborhood, or you can find them using social media. You can even find speed walking groups on Meetup.com. If you can’t find a group in your area you can always start one. Finding the time to walk can have a wonderful impact on your health and well being.