The word “walk” finds it’s origins in the Old English word “walken” which means to travel about and that’s exactly what The Wide World of Walking Equipment is all about. We will travel the walking community and explore all it’s manifestations. Topics will be wide ranging, but all designed to help you get the most from your walking experience. While the primary focus will be on walking equipment and gear, our intent is to cover a wide range of related subjects.   We will talk about the benefits of a walking program…Which of them are real and which are not?  What clothing is proper? What about walking sneakers?…what to buy and when to discard. Various walking approaches: Nordic, Power, Racing, Club, Recreational, and Fitness. We’ll include discussions about walking vacations, clubs and the community’s events around the country and around the world.

We will solicit walking equipment reviews from you. What you like and what you don’t. We will serve as a clearing house and bulletin board for local groups, programs and events. We’ll conduct reader surveys and provide links to helpful and informative sites. Our ultimate goal is to inform and promote. Inform both the novice and the experienced walker and promote the walking experience to everyone.

Whether you walk for personal fitness, to reduce stress or just to enjoy your neighborhood, by joining The Wide World of Walking Equipment community you will enrich your experience and enhance your results. So come and join me as we travel about this interesting and varied world.

Technorati Tags: blog, equipment reviews, reduce stress, walking exercise

From this basic product they developed a sidewalk pavement panel with the same micro sensor and “generator” configuration. Through the same Piezo Effect, people walking on the panels generate enough electricity to power street lights. The city of Toulouse in southwest France has installed eight of the panels and found that they can in fact generate 50-60 watts of energy which would be enough to power any nearby street lamps.

In addition to dance floors, there are number of other installations that employ the basic technology: a subway station in Tokyo and a supermarket in England. Sustainable Dance Club Company said that there has been some interest expressed by local sports venues in initiating a trial program.

While big questions remain about the practicality of wide spread use of this technology both from a cost and durability perspective, it is an interesting development with wide spread implications. Perhaps a power generated walking sneaker is somewhere in our future?

Technorati Tags: peizo effect, walking, Walking Equipment

Walking or hiking staff do you really need one?  Assuming for the moment that you’re not into Nordic walking or don’t require one because of an infirmary of some sort, the answer is, not usually.  Your daily walks are most likely in an urban environment with plenty of paving and has little in the way of strenuous climbing.  But if you’re lucky enough to be able to get out into a more rugged setting with a fair degree of frequency, a hiking/walking staff is something you might want to consider as part of your assortment of walking equipment.

A hiking sticks or staffs come in a wide array of configurations and a wide array of materials.  They can be as simple as a stick you pick up along your walk to a complex, hi tech piece of equipment.  If you find yourself selecting a stick from the first, improvisational, category here are a couple of tips to help you find a walking stick that will work well.

•   Find something that isn’t too heavy.  Of Couse you could throw it away if it got too much of a burden but if it works, you may want to keep it around if for nothing more than as a memento.

•  There is a bit of a debate about the height that a stick should be.  At a minimum, it should be 6 inches taller than your elbow.  At the most, a bit higher than your shoulder.  Your preference, however the taller version would be more helpful in rugged country.

•  Before you decided on a particular stick you need to be sure it can handle the job.  You don’t want to rely on something that is going to give way when you need it the most.  So put your full weight on the stick.  If there is excess bending or obviously it snaps then toss it and look for something else

•  Make sure the business end…where the stick meets the ground…is sturdy.  No splits, cracks, missing portions or uneven surface.  Nothing that is going to throw you off balance.

•  Make sure the hand grip area is smooth, free of knots or a potentially abrasive surface.  Insure that the grip area is not too big or too small.  You going to be carrying it for a while, so a comfortable grip is key.

• Finally, find a stick that’s already on the ground.  Don’t go tearing branches off a healthy tree.  Likely it will be too green to do you much good anyway.

A good walking stick can be of real benefit when walking on uneven or difficult terrain.  It can be that third leg that will help you maintain your balance and prevent a fall or twisted joint. In the right circumstances, a walking staff has its place among important pieces of your walking equipment assortment.

Technorati Tags: exercise walking, fitness walking, hiking staff, walking, Walking Equipment, Walking Gear, Walking Safety, walking stick

Many fitness walkers rely upon the pedometer as their primary piece of walking equipment/gear when attempting to measure and monitor the intensity of their exercise activity.   Fewer used an equally important devise, the heart rate monitor.

What are they and what do they do?

Obviously, as their name would imply, they are a devise similar to the electrocardiograph at your physician’s office.  A piece of gear that monitors your heart rate, measured in beats per minute, taken during your walking or other exercise routines.  This provides you with a standard to measure the intensity level of your work out.  More than simply a recording devise, a monitor can help you design and structure your exercise routine to maximize its’ efficiency, enabling you to get the most from the time you spend.

How do you use one?

The best way to use a heart monitor is in conjunction with your own personal “target heart rate zones”.    A target heart rate zones start with establishing your “maximum heart rate” (MHR) which is a somewhat theoretical but useful measure of the fastest rate at which your heart can beat.  I say its’ theoretical because it is based on math formulas, although there is a procedure for verification.  The most commonly used formula is 220 minus your age.  So if your 40 years old you MHR is 180 beats per minute.  There are more precise formulas but I’ll save that for another post.  Once you’ve determined you MHR, the zones are simply a percentage of that number.  In our example a 50-60% zone would be 90 to 108 beats per minute (180X50%/60%).  Training experts generally establish 5 target heat rate zones and associate them with specific exercise goals.

1. 50-60% Zone – heart strengthens, you reduce your body fat and   blood pressure.  Overall health improves but not strength or endurance.
2. 60-70% Zone – At this level your fat burning increases significantly strength and endurance begin to improve.
3. 70-80% Zone – More body fat burning and increased strengthening of the heat and lungs.
4. 80-90% Zone – Here you’re beginning to burn muscle since the heart can’t pump enough oxygen.
5. 90-100% Zone – You don’t want to go there.

Most exercise routines focus on numbers 1,2,3 and don’t venture into the last two.

Again, in our example, Zone 1 would be walking at a pace that gets your heart rate into the 90 to 108 beats per minute range.  Exercise walking at that rate would improve your overall health but wouldn’t do much for your endurance.

Developing a Heart Rate Based Exercise Routine

The idea here is to design a walking routine that varies its’ speed to increase or decrease your heart rate to help you quickly achieve your overall exercise objectives ie. lose weight, increase endurance, etc. For those who are interested in simply improving their overall health and those just starting out, Zone 1 should be the target.  For anything more, a variation of 1, 2 and 3 would be appropriate.  For example, a third of your total exercise time spent in each of the first three zones.  Changing the zone allotment as your strength and endurance goes up or down. Note:  During a routine it’s always best to break them into some sort of a warm-up, increase, max, warm-down configuration.

Once you’re established your target heart rate zone and programed them into your heart rate monitor, it will do the rest.  Informing you when you’ve reached your target and how long you’ve maintained it.

Brands

There are a wide variety of monitors on the market with a wide array of features, at a wide array of prices.  Have a good idea of what type of routine or goals you want to pursue and then match them the brand or model as best you can.  Consumerresearch.com ranks the Timex T5G971 Unisex Sports Personal Heart Rate Monitor Watch and the Omron HR-100C Heart Rate Monitor as two of the best monitors on the market.

Monitoring your heart rate can give you the tool you need to maximize the effectiveness of you fitness walking activities.  It helps you better plan your walking pace to get maximum effect for each minute your out on the road.  Thereby helping you achieve your goals with less time and effort.  Its’ a piece of walking equipment that gives you a real bang for the buck.

Technorati Tags: beats per minute, exercise, exercise walking, fitness walking, heart rate, heart rate monitor, traget heart rate zone, walking

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

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

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

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

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

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