Hints and tips for the Walking Group

Hello. I'm going to pop this quickie post in before I get on with other things I want to do. Thanks to all the Walking Group who have checked in with their January miles, don't forget, you can do this at any time of the month by just going back to the post on the 1st of the month. There is a menu on the side bar if you don't know how to find it.

There are some amazing mileages being reported, and I want to repeat what I always say, it isn't a race, it isn't a competition, you are walking exclusively for yourselves to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle. The aim of the challenge is to keep moving, pull yourself out of the doldrums, a burst of activity is good for the body and the mind.

There are no rules about how you calculate your miles. I see that some of you are using fitbits and gizmos to keep track of your steps, which are then converted into miles. If you are wearing one from when you get up to when you go to bed, counting every step you take as you go about your daily business, that's up to you. It's a good benchmark to start from and keep you motivated.

If you are relying on a fitbit in this way, it's not going to give you a true reflection on how much time you are spending exercising. We all have to move about in the normal course of a day, pottering around the garden, pushing the hoover around the carpets, making the beds, cleaning the windows, and going around the shops, but unless you are doing these chores at breakneck speed you aren't going to be using up many calories, or exercising your muscles, or pumping up your heartbeat a couple of notches. 

As an example, a person of average height doing a brisk walk can do three miles in an hour, on flat ground. Less if it is up hill and down dale. Someone with longer legs and a longer stride could do more than that. Working on that basis, 150 miles a month would take 50 hours, divide that by 4 weeks, is 12.5 hours a week. Try an experiment, time your brisk walk to exactly one hour, and see if your gizmo reading matches up to that.

Carry on with your fitbits and gizmo's if it is the alternative to sitting around doing nothing. But try and work up a bit of a sweat as well. When I first go out I am cold, so I wrap up. By the time I am half way round I am taking off my gloves, and scarf, and possibly a jacket as well. By the end of my three miles I am toasty warm with glowing cheeks. In the winter I wear walking boots, in the summer, trainers. I want to walk fast and I can't do that wearing any other footwear.

We have just passed the first month, eleven more to go. Those of you who set out specifically to do a walk, keep on keeping on. Those who are monitoring every step you take, do not rest on your laurels, see if you can up your game a bit. A brisk walk to the shops, a jog to the bus stop, a faster than usual dog walk. Get a sweat on, and you will feel better for it.

A link to a site where you can check your miles. Click on Toggle Map Size to make the map on the right bigger. Zoom in to your start point, click on it, and trace your route with your mouse. It will add it up automatically. Bikehike.co.uk  Alternatively a GPS gives an accurate figure.

Away you go, I'll be back later.
Ilona