TIPS ON HOW TO WALK FASTER

Mark Fenton, one of the nation's leading experts in fitness walking and author of The Complete Guide to Walking, encourages people who are starting a program to build up their distance and time spent walking first working up to as much as an hour of walking three days a week before trying to increase the pace.

That way they are fitter and stronger and less likely to be injured or frustrated, he says.

Many people are comfortable walking at a speed of about 3.5 mph and initially find it challenging to increase their speed beyond that. "From my experience, having coached a lot of walkers, I've found that people feel biomechanically limited to go much faster. They say to me, 'I can't move my legs any faster. I don't feel I can get my heart rate up just walking.'"

But as folks reach and exceed 4 mph, Fenton says they feel walking becomes a tremendous workout but still easy on the body.

To boost your walking speed without injury, Fenton recommends:

Make sure you are warmed up before starting any workout.

Be sure to use tall posture.

Take quicker as well as longer strides.

Bend your arms at a 90-degree angle for a quick, compact arm swing.

Push off vigorously with your toes at the end of each stride.

Make sure to do some stretching, at least briefly, afterward.
????: South Beach Diet Forums http://www.southbeachdietbulletinboard.com/exercise/2065-tips-how-walk-faster.html

Don't ignore, or exercise through, pain. Always see a doctor if pain is not relieved by several days of rest, ice, massage and elevation.

Work toward incremental, not monumental, increases.

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Kimmy