Let’s Take A Walk

Originally – way way back – the idea for this workout came from emails from you. Many people wanted a longer walking workout, so my first working title was “Long Walk” but my 11-year-old son put the kibosh on that saying, “That is way too basic.” The next working title was “Endurance Walk” which I held onto for a few months but never really loved. I finally settled on Walk With Weights because after describing the workout to someone I said, “Oh, it’s a straight-forward 45minute walk with weights.” Bingo! That’s it! 

There is something very calming about talking a walk. You don’t have to think too hard, which is really nice after thinking all day, and I find the steady and consistent rhythm of walking to be quite soothing, even when the heart rate increases.

In Walk With Weights, we use light 1-3lb hand weights. We do upper body sculpt moves like chest presses and biceps curls for added toning, but even just holding the extra few pounds in each hand will increase your degree of challenge.  If you have a set of 5lb weights and want to try the workout with them, go for it. You can always skip the arm movements and just hold the weights as you walk. And, I am a big fan of wrist weights for this workout, so if you have a set of those, great! 

It was very much intentional to NOT do any squats or lunges. I wanted Walk With Weights to feel very upright, and I wanted the legs to stay fresh. Walking tones the legs already, so taking a break from those big muscular moves made sense. 

And I never say this, but here I go – feel free to wear sneakers. It really depends on the surface you’re doing this workout on. Because there is no focus on pointing or flexing and because the walking motion is actually controlled by the abs (the abs are the steering wheel), you will not compromise the effectiveness of Walk With Weights by wearing supportive footwear, so if shoes feel right, use ’em. 

So light weights (or heavier one) and barefoot (or wearing sneakers), this week is a great one for a Long Walk/Endurance Walk/Walk With Weights.