The Wide World of Walking Equipment

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Category Walking Benefits, Walking Equipment, Walking Gear [Add Comment]

Snow, Ice, Sleet when will it end?  But perhaps a more important question is,   Will our concerns about walking safety end our walking routines?

Walking during the winter months can be difficult.  Many of us resort to walking indoors or employ walking equipment (treadmills, etc.) of some sort to maintain our exercise routines until spring arrives.  Right about now we are likely bored to death and yearning for the outdoors.  Just a bit of fresh air and a change of scenery.  However, walking in snow and ice can be a challenge, no question about it.  Slipping, sliding, falling and the potential for injury are real dangers and should give us a moment’s pause.  However, at the end of the day, we can’t let a bit of ice and snow or an overpowering sense of boredom erase all our time, hard work and effort.

There are steps we can take to minimize the likelihood of us ending our walk on our derriere or in traction.

• The first rule is don’t overdress.  Although you need to stay warm don’t overdo it.  Too much clothing, particularly if you’re not use to it, can negatively affect your balance and mobility making you more susceptible to a fall.  So dress warm by all means.  Follow proper layering guidelines but don’t dress like the Michelin Man.

• Wear walking sneakers with a gripping tread design, not smooth surfaced.  Be sure that your sneakers have adequate tread and not too worn to give you an adequate grip.  Most quality walking sneaker tread is designed to handle navigating slippery surfaces.  If you live in wintery climes and are uncertain about the traction you shoes provide, a good source of information is your local athletic shoe store.

• In the way of specifically designed walking equipment, there are traction cleats that you attach to your sneakers to give you extra grip and support.  Yaktrax is among the most popular.

• Slow down you walking pace a bit and keep an open eye well in front.  Plan your walk a few steps ahead to avoid potentially slippery areas.  If your walking route takes you on blacktop watch for “black ice”.  I was introduced to this phenomenon one frightening day when I found my car moving sideways down the highway at 60 miles per hour.

• Walk with your feet pointed outward slightly.  It helps with your balance.

• Walking on snow is easier than ice, so stay on snow whenever possible.  It will surely make the walk more difficult of but you’ll get the added benefit of an extraordinary cardio workout.

• Keep your hands free.   Lean forward slightly and keep your arms out away from your body a bit more than usual.  This should provide additional balance and a brace should you in fact slip and fall.

• Shorten up your pace.  Take short steps rather than your usual long stride.

• Sidewalks are a bit of a problem.  Walking is easier but if they are shoveled clean they will usually have periodic ice patches.  If they’ve been salted it probably best to use them.  If not, snow depth permitting, it would be best to walk besides them.  As with all things you’ll need to exercise a little judgment when deciding which way to go.

Hey no one said it was going to be easy.  Walking safety in snow and ice can be troublesome.  But if you need to “get out and about”, just do it.  No need to be overly concerned.  Simply take a few extra precautions.  The important thing is to keep going.   Spring will be here before you know it.

Technorati Tags: exercise walking, fitness walking, ice, snow, walking, Walking Equipment, walking sneakers, winter walking

Category Walking Safety [ Comment »

Foot Pain, Ugh!!! It can be a major issue with exercise walkers, especially for those just starting out or those restating a program after an extended layoff. In fact there are nearly 60,000,000 Americans with some sort of foot problem. These problems run the gamut from bunions, blisters, sore or weak ankles, heel and arch pain and painful joints. Since the foot is the structural basis for your entire body, foot problems can also lead to knee and lower back issues as well. In addition, foot injuries often time take a long time to heal, keeping you out of action for protracted periods which may ultimately cause you to abandon your exercise routine all together.

There are a number of preventative walking equipment and walking procedures that will help you avoid foot related injuries. Below is a list of a few.

For a beginner or someone restarting a walking program the suggestions are basically to buy good walking equipment and to start your routines slowly.

1. Start your exercise program with short walks. Keep them short for a week or so. If all is well gradually increase the distance.
2. On your initial short walks try and find soft, flat surfaces, avoid concrete. Walking on a track or a trail to start out will minimize the pounding on your feet, legs and back.
3. When first starting out on your exercise regime, take your short walks at a leisurely pace, increasing speed gradually.
4. If you develop foot, ankle, knee or lower back pain, stop walking. Get home the best way you can. (Another reason to carry a cell phone with you when you walk). Don’t push it. Don’t’ try and walk through the pain. Once home rest the affected area. Give it time to heal properly before restarting your program.
5. If you experience a repetitive injury of the same type in the same location, you may want to consider visiting a podiatrist or sports medicine practitioner and having your feet, gait and posture evaluated. Orthodontics may be in order. Note: Be sure you visit a professional no self-diagnosis. Improper fitting orthodontics will end up causing more harm than good.
6. Take a look at your feet after a walk. Look for any signs of redness or irritation. If they do appear address them immediately. Examine your walking equipment and try and identify the cause. You can apply moleskin or pressure pads to help compensate for any problems you uncover.
7. Take care of your feet. Keep them clean and be sure to keep the nails trimmed. A little preventive maintenance can go a long way in preventing injury.
8. How about walking equipment.   First and foremost select a sneaker specifically designed for walking. Try to avoid the bargain basement when you are out shopping for a pair. Stick with brand names that have developed a solid reputation for producing a good, quality product. Avoid fad sneakers. Those that promise enhanced results. They seldom do. Make sure the one you select fits well. Bring a pair of walking socks with you when trying on sneakers. The sneaker should be comfortable, snug but not too tight or have pressure points.
9. After purchasing a new pair it’s important to break them in properly. Alternate wearing your old and new pair until your feet have gotten use to the new sneakers and the new sneakers have gotten use to your feet.
10. The other important item in proper foot protection is a walking sock. Here you should stick with a synthetic or wool composition or a blend of the two. Selecting this style will help keep your feet dry and free of blisters. Avoid cotton socks. Make sure that the socks you select are the correct size and fit well. Improper fitting socks can bunch up and cause all sorts of foot pain and problems.

Check our this post for more info on sock selection.

As the foot is the foundation of your body’s entire structure so proper foot care is the foundation of a good exercise walking routine. Buy the correct walking equipment and follow sound exercise walking procedures. You take care of your feet and your feet will take care of you.

Technorati Tags: back pain, blisters, foot injuries, foot problems, walking sneakers, walking socks

Category Walking Clothing, Walking Equipment, Walking Gear, Walking Safety, walking sneakers [Add Comment]

A Newly released study in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport provides some excellent guidelines that should, if properly applied, help us achieve and maintain a more successful fitness walking program.  The study’s goal was to identify factors, which included a combination of walking equipment and planning, that led to an increase in walking distances as well as those factors that impeded progress.  Although the study was conducted with an over 55 age group, it provides significant insights for us all

Factors that lead to an increase in walking distances

The number one factor that helped an individual increase his or hers walking distance was to set specific achievement goals.  These were numerical targets established by the walker or done in conjunction with others.  The targets were hard and fast numbers.  Not “walking more” but the specific number of steps or miles they wanted to achieve.  Speed and time frames were not considered, simply how far an individual wanted to be able to walk.

Once the distance goals were established, the second most significant factor was purchasing and using a pedometer.  It helped by providing a concrete way to monitor their individual performance.  Specifically, it told them how close they were coming or not coming toward the goals they had set for themselves.  This in turn provided a strong incentive to walk more and further.  As one participant said the pedometer was an” inspiration to stick with it and try to make it [walking] a regular thing and try to improve our distance.”

Study participants recognized that record keeping was also an important factor in achieving distance increases. They felt it made them more focused and accountable.

Other strategies employed included parking automobiles further away from the shopping center, walking to the store, getting into the habit of walking at the mall, community center, or supermarket.

Participants said that having someone to walk with was a major factor in increasing their distance.  This from two distinct perspectives–support and/ or competition.  Not surprisingly I suppose, the support came when they walked with a friend, the competition came when walking with a spouse.

Having a safe, interesting palace to walk was also a key factor in achieving their walking goals.

Factors that hindered increases in walking distances.

Weather was number one impediment mentioned, generally winter weather.  It is too cold or icy to go walking.  However, many developed counter strategies; chiefly walking indoors at home, work or the mall.

Physical limitations or injuries were also cited as an inhibitor.  Most of the injuries cited were walking related.    Injuries that could likely have been prevented with a proper warm up routine or occurred when the walker was being too aggressive in pushing their walking regimen too far, too soon.

Not blocking out enough time, being too busy to fit a regular walking program into their daily routines was frequently mentioned.

Walking safety concerns also prevented participants from achieving their goals.  Walking in traffic congested areas, fear of dogs and crime were principle among their concerns. 

For some, walking was a boring, lonely endeavor.  This kept many from their daily walks and prevented them from achieving their goals. 

Fitness Walking Guidelines

Using this study as a guide, an ideal walking program would include the following:

• ·   Establish specific goals

• ·   Measure your progress against those goals with a pedometer.

• ·   Keep records of your progress.

• ·   Find a walking partner or develop ways to combat the isolation of walking alone
  

•    Fiind safe, interesting and engaging places to walk

• ·    Be alert to potential physical problems, warm up properly and be careful about pushing too hard.  Listen to your body.

• ·   Make walking part of your everyday routine.  Something you do  automatically not something you think about.

The study provides an excellent outline of important issues, from both a planning and the walking equipment aspect, that everyone should consider whether they are grizzled veteran or newbie to fitness walking. 

The Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport is a publication  of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education , Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) .

Technorati Tags: exercise walking, fitness walking, pedometer, walking

Category Walking Equipment, Walking Safety [Add Comment]

In addition to having all the right walking equipment, establishing the a good walking route, and putting together a good walking plan, it’s important to develop a routine to properly prepare for body for  your daily walk.  Its’ not a good idea to simply put on your sneakers and hit the streets.  Although walking is a low impact exercise injuries can and do occur.  Most injuries associated with walking are repetitive use injuries such as ankle sprains, meniscus tear (knee), hip flexor strains, blisters, and quadriceps tendonitis. There are any number of strategies to help prevent them from occurring but one of the most helpful is an effective pre walk warm up procedure.

An effective pre walking warm up procedure is composed of two distinct elements:  1) a warming up process and 2) stretching exercises.  Conducting a proper pre walk procedure prior to walking helps eliminate stiffness, and prepare the muscles for exercise by lengthening them and increasing their flexibility.  It’s important to combine both steps to help minimize the potential for injury.

WARMING UP

The following is a list of exercised designed to ease your body into an exercising mode.  Moving directly into stretching exercises without warming up, especially in cold weather, could well result in their own set of injuries such as muscle tears.  So don’t shortcut the process.

Ankle Circles. Standing on one foot, lift the other leg off the ground in front of you.  Slowly flex that ankle making circles with the toes.  Do 10 circles then reverse the direction of your circle and do 10 more.  Switch feet and repeat.

Leg Swings. Standing on one leg, swing the other leg loosely from the hip in a front to back motion.  Keep it relaxed.  Your foot should swing no higher than a foot off the ground.  Do 20 swings with each leg.

Figure 8 leg swings.  Swing one leg from the hip in a front to back motion as you did above, but this time trace a figure 8 with your leg.  Your leg should trace a 8 in front of the body and another 8 behind.  Do 20 swings with each leg. 

Pelvic Circles. Stand with your hands on your hips, your knees gently bent and your feet hip width apart.  Keep your body upright and make 10 slow, continuous circles with your hips, pushing them gently forward to the back, left and then right.  Reverse directions and repeat 10 times.

Arm Circles.  Hold both arms out perpendicular to your sides, making the letter T.  Make 10 slow backward circles with your hands, starting small and finishing with large, using your entire arm.  Repeat the same process with 10 forward circles.

Twist Jumps. Begin hopping in place on both feet.  Keep your head and shoulders facing forward and begin to twist your feet and lower body left then right on successive hops. Do this 20 times.

Once you get the hang of it this series of exercises shouldn’t take longer than 3 or 4 minutes to complete.  After this you should notice greater overall flexibility and any muscle stiffness eliminated.  If not, repeat the warm ups as needed.  Let our body be your guide.

STRETCHING

There are any number of stretching exercises that can help you muscles get ready for a fitness walk.  They, at a minimum, should focus on the muscles of the legs and hips.  The Stretching Institute recommends a minimum of three basic exercises:

  Squatting Leg-out Adductor Stretch: Stand with your feet wide apart. Keep one leg straight and your toes pointing forward while bending the other leg and turning your toes out to the side. Lower your groin towards the ground and rest your hands on your bent knee or the ground.

  Kneeling Quad Stretch: Kneel on one foot and the other knee. If needed, hold on to something to keep your balance and then push your hips forward.

   Standing Toe-up Achilles Stretch: Stand upright and place the ball of your foot onto a step or raised object. Bend your knee and lean forward.

If you have muscle groups that you have a particular problem with you may want to research both warm up and stretching exercises that specifically address those areas.  Any stretching exercises should be done slowly without jerky motion, gradually stretching out the targeted muscle group.  Stretching should never be done without first warming the muscle up.  Once again let your body be your guide…never force, never ignore pain.

LATEX BANDS

One piece of walking equipment that I’ve found helpful in warm up and stretching are latex bands.  They are frequently used by physical therapist and are excellent  for low impact resistance for both your walking stretching and warm us exercises.

Injury is one of the most frequently given reasons for discontinuing an exercise regimen.  Don’t let it be yours.  Spend a small bit of time preparing for your walk.  A warm up and a stretch will increase your level of walking safety.

Technorati Tags: exercise, exercise walking, fitness walking, stretching, warm up

Category Walking Equipment, Walking Gear, Walking Safety [ Comment »

The New Year celebrations are over.  Time to examine in detail those New Year Resolutions you made with such enthusiasm and commitment.    If we were to take a survey I would guess that the number one and two resolutions made each year would be “exercise more” and “lose weight”.  Many make these pledges on January 1st only to see them slowly fall by the wayside a month or two later.  Even after making a significant investment is walking equipment and gear.   The reasons for the backsliding differ with each individual.  However I would suggest that they all have one thing in common: The resolutions weren’t specific nor detailed enough to give you activity a focus.  In other words, while your resolutions may be noble in scope and purpose, they lack a PLAN. 

So what is “A Plan” and more specifically what is a “A Walking Plan”? There are three key components to any plan: Goals, Steps and Tracking.  The Goal is what you want to achieve.  Steps are the benchmarks along the way and Tracking is measuring your progress.  Miss any one of these three and your efforts are likely to fall short.

The Goal

Let’s start with goals.  Rule Number One when setting goals:  They have to be specific.  “Exercise more” won’t cut it.  You have to establish exactly what the words “Exercise” and “More “mean.  If your choice of exercise routine is fitness walking then you can make the goal a bit more specific.  From “exercise more” your goal now becomes to “fitness walk more”.  But that still leaves us with the “more” word. 

In fitness walking there are four components of “more”: Distance, Frequency, Time and Timeframe (DFTT).  Distance is how far you plan to walk.  That can be measured in miles or steps.  I’m going to walk a mile, or I’m going to walk 2,000 steps.  Time is how fast you’re going to complete your distance goal, one hour for example.  Next is how often do your plan to perform this activity: daily or weekly?  Finally when do you want to achieve these results: 6 months, 12 months? 

 You’ll need to sit down and give a bit of thought to these issues.  Decide what it is you want to achieve.  Fill in the DFTT blanks with “stretchy” but not impossible numbers.  They should represent where you want to go not where you are.    Give yourself a challenge.  Your sense of accomplishment will be greater the more you accomplish. 

 After some thought and consideration the final form of your New Year’s resolution/goal should read something like.

 “Fitness walk, three miles, 3 times a week, in one hour or less, accomplished by December 31, 2011.”

The Steps

Now you’ve got your goal.  The next question to answer is how are you going to get there?  What are the specific intermediate steps along the way?  You need start with where you are.  If you are currently walking one mile per hour, one time a week in an hour and a half… that is your starting point.  Without over analyzing things the quickest way to establish intermediate steps is to take your goal subtract your current performance level and divide by four.  In our case we want to increase our mileage from 1 to 3.  Subtracting we get 2 miles.  Divided by 4 we get half a mile.  So a half a mile becomes our mileage increment.  Do the same for time and distance.  In our example, the final increment becomes a half a mile, a half a time a week, in 8 minutes.  Then add/subtract that increment to your current performance levels and your first intermediate step becomes a mile and a half, one and a half times a week (or twice every two weeks) in an hour and 22 minutes.  Continue to add/subtract the increments to each new intermediate step until you’ve reach your ultimate goal. 

Finally you need to establish time frames to achieve each intermediate step.  Again apply the same 4 factor.  If you’re allowing yourself 12 months to reach your goal, it divided by 4 is 3 months.  So each incremental step should be accomplished in 3 months.

Your final Fitness Walking Plan should look something like this:

Timeframe                  Distance            Frequency              Time     

1/1/09                        1 mile          1 tim e a week        1h 30 min

(current starting point)

4/1/10                        1 ½ mile       1 ½ times a week   1h 22 min

7/1/10                         2 miles        2 times a week       1h 14 min

10/1/10                      2 ½ miles      2 ½ times a week   1h 6 min

12/31/11                    3 miles          3 times a week           1h

(final goal)

Tracking

The last piece of the puzzle is Tacking.  This can be simple or it can be complicated but the objective here is to monitor your progress and see how close you’re coming to both your intermediate steps and ultimate goal.  At a bare minimum you should get yourself a calendar and pencil in your distance and time after every walk.  This will provide you with instant feedback, giving you advance notice if you falling short and need to pick up your walking pace, push yourself to walk a bit further or block out more time in you schedule to devote to exercise.  Tracking will keep you engaged in and committed to your walking activity.

2010 is the start of a new decade and can be the start of a new, healthier you.  Fitness walking is the best exercise routine, bar none.  It’s enjoyable, its low impact and it’s something you can continue to do for the rest of your life.  It all starts with a good plan.  Good, achievable but stretchy goals, broken up into bite size increments with a tracking system in place watching you along the way. 

Have a great happy and healthy new year.

Technorati Tags: exercise more, exercise walking, fitness walking, lose weight, new year resoultions, plan, walking

Category Walking Equipment, Walking Gear [Add Comment]

Water in Winter…How important is it?  In spite of the sometimes frigid weather, walking during the winter does have some advantages.  The cold keeps your body temperature from rising and your body from sweating to compensate.  Does this in turn mean that can put your water bottle away with your summer walking equipment and don’t need to drink as much water?    Not quite.  While the loss of moisture through perspiration decreases, the rate of moisture lost through respiration/ breathing actually increases.

You lose moisture as you breathe.  Moisture from you lungs is absorbed by air during the breathing process.  As the air is exhaled the moisture present  leaves your body for the great outdoors .  Since cold air tends to be dryer than warm air, the moisture loss is significantly higher in winter than in summer. When engaged in normal everyday activity an individual will lose between one and two quarts of water a day through the simple act of breathing.  When engaged in moderate to strenuous physical activity the rate jumps to ½ to 1 ½ quarts per hour.   Another fact that enters into consideration is that the body can only absorbed about a quart of water an hour.  So with a simple bit of math you can readily see that the body can quickly deplete its’ water supply if proper precautions are not taken.  There is the potential for dehydration during exercise walking in the winter months and those precautions should be taken seriously.   (Seasonal celebrations also put some added stress and strain on our body’s water supply).

As is the case in summer, dehydration in winter can have some serious consequences.  Dehydration can accelerate hypothermia, frostbite and fatigue.  So you’ll want to consider these walking health and safety issues.

So what procedures should we follow to insure that we stay hydrated and healthy?  Basically it’s the same ones you should be following during the summer months. 

• Drink a bit of water an hour or so before you head out on your walking excursion.  Probably about ½ to 1 quart, depending on your walking style and pace.

• Periodically sip a bit of water throughout you walk.  Don’t rely on your thirst level to tell you when to drink.  It’s not always a reliable indicator of your body’s hydration levels.  How much water?  Again that depends on your exertion level, time and distance but a minimum amount should be 12 ounces.

• Drink water after you’ve concluded your routine.  Perhaps as much as another quart if you’ve really exerted yourself.

Psychologically it’s often times difficult to get into a routine of drinking water when you’re not thirsty or when it’s cold outside.   So it’s important that you develop a year round standard routine surrounding your water consumption while walking.  Get into a habit of drinking water before, during and after your walk.  Keep the amounts the same in winter and in summer so that it becomes second nature and you don’t have to constantly call it to mind.  It’s important to stay physically active and engaged during the winter months so pull that water bottle back out of you summer walking equipment.  Remember to stay hydrated and stay healthy.

Technorati Tags: dehydration, fatigue, frostbite, hyporthermia, walking in winter, water bottle, water consumption

Category Walking Equipment, Walking Gear, Walking Safety [Add Comment]

We have been disciplined.   We have faithfully kept to our exercise walking routines, braving the frigid cold and howling winds.  We are fit.  We are trim.  And what else do we have to show for all our dedications and effort…dry, flakey, cracking skin on our face, hands and feet.  The outdoor cold and the corresponding indoor heat can sure do a number on the old epidermis.  But there are some things that you can do and walking equipment you can buy to help prevent and alleviate this winter time dilemma.

1. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize.  A couple of times a week, at least.   During the winter months it’s best to use an oil rather than water based moisturizer since the oil will form a protective layer on the skin that will help it retain more moisture.  There are lotions available that contain what are called humecants which can actually attract moisture to your skin.  So look for them as well. Also look for lotions with  non-clogging oils.  Mineral oil, primrose oil and avocado oil work well in this regard.
2. Avoid Hot Showers or Baths.  It might be tempting to jump in a nice hot shower after a walk in the frigid cold but that will actually remove the naturally occurring skin oils and lead to additional moisture loss.
3. Get a Humidifier.  Indoor heat removes moisture from the air further drying the skin. A humidifier puts the moisture back in.  Best to get several smaller units and place them throughout the house to get a more even moisture distribution.
4. Extra Care for Hands and Feet.  The skin on our hands and feet is thinner and have fewer oil glands than most other parts of the body.  Therefore they need “Attention to Prevention”.  Apply a bit of moisturizer to your hands and feet before going outside.  Always were gloves and be sure to use a wool/synthetic blend walking socks and other synthetic based walking clothing to wick  moisture away from your feet and body.
5. Apply Sun Screen.  The sun doesn’t stop generating harmful UV rays just because it winter.  In fact the presence of snow actually amplifies the potential damage.  Get a good SPF 30 and rub it on exposed skin 30 minutes before you hit the streets. This will provide some added protection against the cold as well.
6. Don’t Forget the Chapstick.
7. Avoid Wet Clothing.  Wet gloves and socks can add an additional irritation factor to the whole scene.   Get out of them as soon as possible.
8. Use Exfoliatants Frequently.   Exfoliating removes flakey skin and helps the moisturizer you’re applying to be absorbed that much faster.
9. Drink more Water?  Contrary to common wisdom, there doesn’t appear to be any direct link between drinking water and moist skin.  Hey drink plenty of water for the myriad of other benefits but not because it will help your dry skin.
10. The Cure.  If you’ve gotten to the point where you skin has become itchy take a lukewarm bath in oatmeal or baking soda and reapply your moisturizer.

During the winter months when it’s easy to find excuses not to maintain your exercise walking routine you want to make sure that you don’t give yourself any opportunity to put it off.  It’s hard enough getting motivated to go out in the cold without having to deal with itchy, chapped skin.  So take care of yourself and your skin.  Keep walking safe.  Spring will be here before you know it.

Technorati Tags: exercise walking, Exfoliate, fitness exercise, Moisturize, skin care, SPF30, UV rays, walking, walking socks

Category Walking Clothing, Walking Equipment, Walking Safety [ Comment »

    How many times have you been ask “What do you want for Christmas?”.  Personally, I’m always a bit conflicted about that question.  I don’t want get too specific since what I suggest may be beyond what the person is willing or able to pay.  Plus, quite frankly, knowing what the gift is takes some of the magic of opening it come Christmas morning.   It seems the best approach to resolve this dilemma is to generate a list.  A list provides the gift giver a range of prices to select from and it maintains some of the wide eyed splendor when it’s finally opened.  So that’s what we’re going to do.  Generate a list of great walking equipment gifts for the exercise walker to forwarded on to your friends, family members or the “significant other” in your life.   That is unless you’re fortunate enough that he or she shares your interest in exercise walking, in which case you can use it as your guide in the gift selection process.  

    Ipod or MP3 Player.  This is typically one of the most popular gifts of the season but as a walker you likely already have one.  But if it’s like mine, it doesn’t have much memory and it’s gotten banged up a bit over the years.  So if you need or want an upgrade or replacement, we suggest a flash memory devise with at least 4 gigabytes storage.  You can get flash memory up to 32GB if you have a ton of music to download. 

     A High Visibility Safety Vest.  During the winter months we often find ourselves walking in the dark.  An outer vest with reflective strips will help insure that you’re visible to traffic.  Can never go wrong with a gift of safety.  It says you really care. 

      Walking Socks.  Yes I know that this along with ties are the standing  jokes of Christmas gifts, but not the case for an exercise walker.  Socks are a serious business.  Get a pair or two of a blend of wool and acrylic or polypropylene. 

     Rain Poncho.  An inexpensive stocking stuffer.  Get a thin plastic hooded version, light and compact enough to fit in a pocket or fanny pack. 

     Fanny Pack.  Get one with a pocket for a water bottle plus a good sized pack for storage. 

     Pedometer.  This is a great walking equipment item to help keep track of your walking activity and progress, a real motivator.    There is a wide variety of brands and models, with a myriad of styles and features, so you can stay simple or get real fancy. 

      A Small Flashlight.  Again walking in the dark can be dangerous.  A small flashlight can help get you noticed by oncoming traffic.  A LED style would be best.  They don’t use much energy and recent versions do put out some significant light. 

         Heart Rate Monitor.  Indispensible for someone trying to maintain a certain levels of exercise intensity.  Usually found in a watch configuration. 

       Water Bottle.  You can get fancy or plain here as well.  But be sure to get one with at least a 24 ounce capacity and fitted with a strap in case you didn’t get the fanny pack. 

         Magazine Subscription.  Here are a couple of excellent ones.  Walk About Magazine and Walk!

So here it is, the Walking Equipment Gift List for 2009.  Send in on.  A reminder to the person who receives it…there is nothing like giving the gift of health to those you love and care about. The list probably won’t change much next year so be sure to bookmark this post and send it our again next December.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to all.

If you have an additional gift ideas be sure to share them below

Technorati Tags: Christmas gifts, fanny pack, flashlight, heart rate monitor, high visibility colthing, Ipod, MP3 player, pedometer, rain poncho, walking, walking magazine, walking socks, water bottle

Category Walking Clothing, Walking Equipment, Walking Gear, Walking Safety [Add Comment]

In keeping with the season and the strong interests shown in some of the recent blog posts, there are a couple of additional issues and tips about walking and exercise during the winter months we ought to review.  As mentioned in a number of posts, slacking off in winter is not the best thing for your waistline, your stamina or your motivation.  You’ve spent all spring, summer and fall working hard to stay fit.  Suddenly because of bad weather and the holiday feasting and stress, you’ve found yourself back where you started 8 months ago with all the accrued walking benefits lost.  All that hard work and effort has been for naught.  Talk about demotivating.  Here is some info and additional tips to help you stay active and engaged during this rough patch. 

Winter walking is Great

On the plus side, walking outdoors during cold weather is highly effective in working off the excesses of the holiday season. When the temperature drops your body works hard just to say warm.  Add that to the effects of exercising outdoors and you get a significant boost in calorie burn during your outdoor walking routine.  In addition we all know that getting outdoors for a walk helps “clear the head” and reduces the stress generated the by all the holiday preparations.

Winter Walking Needs Extra Care

That’s great, but remember you do need to do a bit of preplanning before you hit the road.  Be sure to warm up before you head out.  Pop your walking clothes in the clothes dryer to warm them up.  It might help take a bit of the chill out of the air.  Be sure to layer your clothing with a shirt of wicking material (polyester or silk) next to your skin. Your main heat releasing body parts are your head, feet and hands.  Be sure to keep them well covered.

Keep in mind that walking is a low intensity exercise and its’ benefits tend to be accumulative.  This means that you can get close to the same benefits from two 30 minutes sessions as with one that’s an hour long.  If it’s too cold, break your walking session in two.  By simply increasing your speed a bit, the caloric burn/fitness outcomes will be close.

It’s Just Too Cold

If the elements outdoors are just too much to bear, check around the neighborhood.  See what other fitness opportunities or programs may be available. In keeping with our general exercise theme, mall walking or stair climbing would be two excellent alternatives.  But you may want to broaden your horizons a bit. There may be yoga, aerobics, pilates or dance programs that you can join on a month to month basis to help get you through the winter doldrums.  Schools, Park Districts, and Recreation Centers often sponsor winter exercise programs, usually at little or no costs. 

Ice skating is a great alternative to walking.  A thirty minute session on skates burns the same number of calories as thirty minutes of stair climbing or an hour of walking. It’s a low impact exercise so your joints will thank you as well.

Finally, you may want to consider buying a piece or two of inexpensive home exercise equipment.  A jump rope or stability ball would be two items to consider. 

Winter weather can be frustrating even to the most motivated walker.   But when the cold weather and dark nights set in, don’t put your walking/exercise routine on ice.  Take a look at other programs are available locally.  Find those that interest you and mix and match to your heart’s content.   Beat the winter blahs.  If walking outdoors is out of the question find a substitute or two.  The important thing is to keep going and preseve all the walking benefits you’ve earned. 

If anyone has any additonal thoughts or tips about winter exercise drop me a line or leave a comment and share with everyone.

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