Core Daily
Movement
The Case Against Walking
Most of the people in the gym are on what I like to call "the long slow walk to nowhere." Even if I liked the term "cardio," what I see people do would best be qualified as Ultra Low Intensity Calorie Burning (ULICB) or Ultra Low Intensity Cardio Training (ULICT). (Just figured I'd make up my own acronyms. Everyone else does.) I have trouble believing that anyone walking on a treadmill, while holding on no less, is getting much of a cardiovascular workout.
I know, I know, it's better than watching TV. But guess what, at most of these places you can walk slowly and watch TV. If only they had food service, you could eat while you walked also. Here is my analogy. Walking is to exercise as eating sugar packets at Dunkin Donuts is to nutrition. Yes, if you were starving you could get calories from sugar packets. That doesn't mean it is good nutrition.
What I witness at gyms is the cardiovascular lowest common denominator (CLCD). Let's get one thing straight. If you want to improve your fitness, you need to challenge yourself. Walking is a great place to start. However, if you continue to walk at the same pace for the same time, any benefits beyond calories expended decrease and potentially disappear.
Back to Charles Staley's 180 principle. It's really as simple as doing the opposite of the masses. Check it out:
- Everyone is holding on. Let go.
- Everyone is walking flat. Raise the incline.
- Everyone is walking for a long time. Walk up a hill and then rest.
Start a simple interval training program if you have been walking for a while. First step, buy a heart-rate monitor. All you need to do is know your heart rate. Next time you walk use your monitor and see what your heart rate is during your walk. This is what we will call your Comfortable Working Heart Rate (CWHR). Most middle aged people would need to break 110 beats per minute to get a cardiovascular effect. Either way, don't worry about it. Just figure out what heart rate you normally walk at.
Now try this next time you walk:
- Warm up for five minutes at your normal pace and then raise the incline to five percent.
- Walk for one minute. This should move you about 10 percent to 20 percent (this will be 10 to 20 beats in most cases) out of that steady state comfort zone. If it's more than 20 percent higher, reduce the incline to three percent. If it's less, raise it to seven percent.
- Step off the belt and wait for your heart rate to return to 100 beats per minute.
The bottom line? Do a 180. Do the opposite of everyone else.
About The Author
Michael Boyle – Michael Boyle is one of the world’s leading experts in the area of performance enhancement.
