Preparing for the step challenge

Summers are beautiful in Idaho, so what better time to get a little more fit by doing something simple like walking.

Local News 8 anchors Jay Hildebrandt and Karole Honas have challenged their competitors at Channel 3 Eyewitness News to a fitbit step challenge, and are inviting viewers to join them evenings next week as they walk to accomplish their step goal each day.

Certified personal trainer, Sandi Gordon, from the Apple Athletic Club, shared some thoughts on the benefits of walking.

“It helps increase your muscle tone, your balance, your confidence, your posture — any number of different benefits, but mainly overall health,” Gordon said.

Gordon had some tips on walking in general.

“You want to keep your shoulders back, your head held high, your back nice and straight with a relaxed posture, heels first and keep your ears over your shoulders,” Gordon said.

Gordon said there are advantages to walking on a treadmill.

“You don’t have an uneven surface,” Gordon said. “You’re walking on a flat, smooth, cushioned surface so you have less risk of impact injuries, less risk of falling. There are more options — you can go up a hill, whereas if you’re just walking around the neighborhood it’s hard to find that hill. This way you can increase your elevation so that you’re walking up a hill, so that you’re increasing that heart rate so that you’re getting more benefit from the exercise.”

But Gordon said there are advantages to walking outdoors too
“It’s beautiful to walk by the river,” Gordon said. “I have no problem with that. It’s gorgeous to be outside this time of year. Keep your shoulders back. Keep your head high. Take long strides, go ahead and swing your arms.”

The American College of Sports Medicine and the World Health Organization suggest moderate exercise 150 minutes a week. That could be 30 minutes of walking five times a week. But you need to push yourself a little for maximum benefit.

“You want to step up the pace,” Gordon said. “You want a good pace, but it doesn’t have to be power walking every day. You don’t have to be doing a three minute mile every day.”You want to get to three miles an hour so that you’re getting your heart rate up a little bit so you’re gaining some benefit from it. Your heart rate needs to be up a little bit.”

For more information on starting a walking program, here is a link to a web site from the American College of Sports Medicine.

https://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/starting-a-walking-program.pdf