Walk Talk Series

Day 1- Build the Walking Habit

Starting a Walking Routine

It is time to commit yourself to better health, fitness, and a body you love. To make this a reality, we have tools you can use to help you build and keep your walking habit.

There are four facets to setting up a new habit for a lifetime.

  • Set clear and realistic goals
  • Keep yourself on a schedule so that the habit sticks
  • Monitor your progress and reward yourself for success
  • Keep it interesting

Setting Goals – Build The Walking Habit

The essentials of a good fitness goal are:

  • Realistic: The goal should be challenging, but realistically achievable.Don’t set your sights too low, but also don’t set yourself up for failure.
  • Measurable: Your goal should be stated in a way that can be measured.
  • How many miles a week? How many pounds or inches to lose? What 10K distance time? Finishing a marathon by what date?
  • Dated: Set dates by which you will attain the goal and intermediate goals along the way.
  • Written down: Your goal should be made concrete so you can review it.
  • Track your progress: Keep your goal in sight and see what steps you are making towards attaining it.
  • Celebrate success: Along the way when you reach new milestones, it is time to celebrate. And when you achieve your overall goals, don’t hold back – reward yourself.

Setting Realistic and Measurable Goals

You will have to know how fit you are now and what is possible. For weight loss, do not set a goal of losing more than 1-2 pounds a week or 5-10 pounds a month, and plan for plateaus along the way. For increasing speed and distance, plan for increasing no more than 10-15% a week in order to prevent injury and allow muscles to repair and build.

Dating Your Goals

One of the best ways to set a date in concrete is to apply it to a major walking event. If you want to be able to walk a certain distance or have a speed goal, find an upcoming walking event and register for it. Not only will this make the goal concrete, it will also reward you for achieving it.

Kick off Your New Walking and Fitness Commitment

Today’s Walk

  • 15-30 minute walk, at a comfortable pace
  • Warm up with 5 minutes at a very easy pace
  • Find a safe spot with a wall or pole to do a 5 minute easy stretching routine
  • Now resume your walk at a comfortable pace
  • End with 5 minutes of gentle stretching

What To Change

Your focus for today– “What do I want to change?” 

  • Do you want to lose weight?
  • Improve your fitness?
  • Prevent or control diseases?
  • Train for a walking event?

Spend your time walking to think of these, and then write down your ideas.

Start a Food Diary

Begin a food diary, noting each item that you eat and how much. This is the first step to improving your diet – awareness.