Walking for Exercise

From the Examiner:

Minneapolis is one of the country’s most walkable cities according to recent news reports. Of course, for those of us who live here, this isn’t really news. The abundant walking paths, trails and parks are popular with residents all over the metro area. For some, a walk around the lake is just a chance to get outside and enjoy the scenery. For many, the daily stroll is exercise. So what’s the difference? Knowing exactly what makes walking a workout may help some exercisers become more successful at reaching their fitness or weight loss goals.


The best way to evaluate your walking workout is to monitor intensity. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that healthy adults should get 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise for a minimum of five days per week. According to the ACSM, “moderate intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, yet still being able to carry on a conversation.” Another great way to monitor the intensity of a workout is to wear a heart rate monitor. In order to reach a moderate intensity, 65-75% of your maximum heart rate, your walking stride needs to be fairly brisk.


Keep in mind that the ACSM does not recommend using a pedometer to measure exercise quality. While the step counting devices can accurately compute the quantity of steps taken each day, they don’t measure intensity and therefore do not help exercisers adhere to the recommendation for moderate intensity exercise. They can, however, be used to measure steps per minute. By walking 3000 steps in 30 minutes, researchers have found that most exercisers should reach the recommended intensity to meet the ACSM guideline.


The local walk and run specialists at Marathon Sports are a great resource for walkers who need to get equipped. On your next walk around Lake Harriet, stop in to check out their selection of heart rate monitors, walking and running shoes and training logs to make sure that your workouts stay on track.


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