A Surprising Way to Burn More Calories
How to amp up your walking workout, where to find a training group, plus the gear you need to get started.
by Julie D. Andrews
If you're bored with basic walking, race walking is an effective way to rev up your heart rate and add a new challenge. The brisk arm pumping gives your upper body a rigorous workout and tones your arms.
Spending just 30 minutes race walking at speeds of at least 5 mph, a 145-pound woman can burn about 220 calories—more than she would walking or even jogging at the same pace shows a Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness study.What's more, without the pavement pounding inherent in running, race walking puts less pressure on your knees and hip joints. Here's how you can step up your stride.
Race Walking 101
Named a women's Olympic sport in 1992, race walking differs from running and powerwalking with its two tricky technique rules. The first: You must be in contact with the ground at all times. This means that only when the front foot's heel touches down can the back foot's toe lift off.
Secondly, the knee of the supporting leg must remain straight from the time it hits the ground until it passes under the torso. The former keeps your body from lifting off the ground, as it would while running; the latter keeps the body from getting into bent-knee running stance.
