Spicing Up Your Winter Walking Program

By Robert Sweetgall

The Winter Holiday Health-Drag. What should be a joyous holiday time for us, unfortunately, turns out to be a less-than-healthy experience. Consider: the average adult gains six pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Couple that with holiday stress, the northwest winter-weather blues, gray dripping skies, and diminishing daylight, indoor hibernation, and the egg-nog-candy-cookie-parties … and now you might understand why December and January rank as our top months for treating cardiovascular disease. And why January kicks off Resolution Season.

But why wait for January to dig yourself out of a health-hole? Let’s start now, in November, before the holiday health-hole gets too deep. Below are four focus areas you can start with including: (1) Motivation; (2) Weight loss and healthy weight management; (3) Cardiovascular conditioning; and (4) Muscles, bones, balance, and posture. Below are tips, workouts, strategies, and simple, creative ways to spice up your winter walking and workouts to help you from getting buried in a winter avalanche.

1. Motivation
The Gradual Transition: Before the weather gets really bad, try making a smoother transition from the sunny 60º crisp fall days into the darker, colder December days by using November as your “transition month” to let your body acclimate to the upcoming winter season. Once you start handling these colder, wetter 40º days, the tougher winter weather will not seem so abrupt and cruel. But if you fail to make this transition between late fall and early winter, all of a sudden you’ll be staring scared at Grand Ole Winter.

The Step-by-Step Pedometer Approach: A Stanford University research study shows that people increased their daily activity levels by approximately 2,000 steps once they started wearing pedometers. What’s 2,000 steps? Try a mile extra per day or the equivalent of 35,000 fewer calories. That adds up to 10 pounds less weight on your hips, thighs, and stomach come year end. All because “ the little kid” in you was excited to get “extra credit” on your pedometer. Suggestion : Avoid cheap, throwaway pedometers, and invest in something that will last you more than a month.

Activity Logging: People who take a few seconds a day to record their physical activity in a bound journal (logbook), stay on their programs most. It’s all about pride, achievement, commitment, and self-esteem.

2. Weight Loss and Healthy Weight Management
M&M’s are Football Fields: You need to walk one full football field to burn off one M&M. A 12-once beer is 36 football fields, and a Snicker’s bar is 54! A potato chip is just two — but who eats one chip? The whopper-sized cheeseburger, fries, and shake at your local fast-food drive-in is 400 football fields. (Read Walking Off Weight by Sweetgall, Whiteley, and Neeves.) But it’s more than just burning off the “treats” as Jim Fixx thought he could do by running. It’s about the trans-fats, cholesterol, carcinogens, and contaminants in so many of these calorically dense, processed foods.

Little Walks: Short walks can make a big difference, and little walks lead to bigger walks. Try taking a “penny walk” — that’s when you head out the door and promise not to return until you find a penny. Or try taking an early bird morning walk — even 10 minutes around the block will boost your morning metabolism, oxygenate your brain for the day ahead, and lower your stress levels.

Stop weighing yourself so much: If you need some accountability, undress yourself in front of your bedroom mirror and start jogging. Stop and see which body parts come to rest first!

3. Cardiovascular Conditioning
Improving aerobic endurance will also help you improve collateral circulation around your heart muscle while increasing your ability to perform more challenging physical tasks. To accomplish these aerobic gains, try pushing your walking pace a little bit faster (within your own comfort zone) for extended periods of even 15 to 20 minutes on alternating days of the week. On your off-days or easy days, emphasize longer, more moderate walks (for recovery and caloric burn). Also, for improved heart function, try some interval workouts by alternating short higher-intensity segments of walking with slower-paced, recovery segments. Even one interval-workout a week over time can improve endurance.

4. Muscles, Bones, Balance, and Posture
Hibernating through winter isn’t good for your bones, muscles, posture, low-back, core strength, or balance. To prevent bone-muscle wasting, try these simple routines and workouts: (1) one- or two-leg squats using the kitchen counter as your balance beam, dipping down to strengthen your thighs, but without letting your knees protrude past your toes; (2) climbing hills on your walks to strengthen and tone your legs; (3) stair-climbing to avoid more than 30 minutes of straight sitting.

Finally, you can turn your walking program into a total-body workout by pushing off on walking poles specifically designed for Nordic walking. This push-down/push-off motion engages all the muscles in the upper body, including the stomach, arms, chest, and back muscles, while strengthening your bones and core — and burning 40% more calories than “plain-vanilla” walking. Plus it takes tons of pressure off your feet, knees, and hips. In total, Nordic walking improves cardio, metabolism, muscle and bone mass, posture, balance, right-left brain activity, and mental function. (Can you remember all that?) For more information on Nordic Walking, visit www.creativewalking.com (Nordic Walking Programs) or call 1-800-762-9255.

The Bottom Line … Walk the Four Seasons because we were not designed as hibernating bears or to practice yo-yo weight loss schemes to win annual Biggest Loser Weight Loss Contests. The healthiest people on the planet do daily, consistent fresh-air outdoor activity — 365 days a year in nature!

Robert Sweetgall, has walked and run seven times across America and has since written 17 books on walking, weight loss, and active living. Sweetgall lives atop of Little Ski Hill in McCall, ID, where he Nordic Walks the ridges, roads, and trails daily when he’s not traveling the country presenting workshops. Sweetgall can be contacted at Rob@creativewalking.com or www.creativewalking.com.