Walking Challenge Tip - Push Yourself Today with More Steps in Less Time

Challenge Yourself Today

It is our intention of this 21-Day Walking Challenge to allow the nature of moving your body well to help you get in better shape and therefore better health. Today’s topic is to help you Push Yourself Today with More Steps in Less Time 

"Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far." - Thomas Jefferson

What we know for sure is that walking is the link to living a healthy and vibrant life. We believe walking inspires the mind, activates the body, and nourishes the soul.

Welcome to day 13 of the 21-Day Walking Challenge. Here is a look at what you can expect today:

Your Walk Today: 30 Minutes Long

Today’s Tip: Push Yourself Today with More Steps in Less Time

This walking challenge is meant for beginners and people of all fitness levels, which is why the increase in how long you walk only changes by a minute or so every day. This is because starting slow and steady and gradually working harder is optimum for long-term success.

In our experience when you begin something new, go full force, and attempt to do a workout that someone much more advanced can do easily, you burn out, get overwhelmed, and just give up. The most important thing throughout this challenge is that you take action daily! That you get out there and put in the effort, even if some days your walk isn’t quite as long as we recommended. 

But today, we want to talk to you about pushing yourself. The reason this is saved for halfway through the challenge is that by now, you are accustomed to walking every day, and are already up to 30-minute walks. 

Now is a great time just to push yourself a little bit. For today’s walk, take more steps in less time. What does this mean? It means you are going to walk a little faster, watch your fitness tracker, and see how many more steps you can get in the same length of time as you did yesterday. 

To accomplish this challenge, you will have to focus on your posture as we discussed yesterday and in other blog posts. Here is what we shared yesterday to remind you of good walking posture - Tips for Good Walking Posture - When walking, your body must be in a neutral position without leaning backward or forward. Engage your core muscles in order to help maintain good posture.

It can also be helpful to imagine a string pulling your head upwards in order to maintain an erect posture. If you're walking outside, you can keep your eyes fixed on the horizon. We shared ideas for good posture and a video from Chi Walking for you here https://wendybottrell.weebly.com/blog/how-to-increase-your-walking-speed-today-tip and remember to - Roll Your Foot From Heel to Toe - This may be something you have never thought about. Stand up and just walk a few steps forward, turn around, then walk back. Which part of your foot landed on the ground first? When you go for a walk, you must be rolling your feet starting with the heel touching ground first, and your toes being the last to touch, then lift off the ground.

If you tend to put your entire foot on the ground or walk on your toes, you will experience a lot of foot pain. 

These simple walking techniques are how I walk every day. Simple and effective in not only getting out for a daily walk, using good posture to allow me to push myself each and every time. 

It is a fun, simple exercise that helps you see how much you can Push Yourself Today with More Steps in Less Time. 

It is our belief that the practice of walking is one of the ways we connect to living a healthy and vibrant life.

You are your best advocate; if you are not moving well each day, it is easy to get burned out by all of life's demands. Taking some time each day for yourself to get outside and walk can have a profound impact on your well-being. Physical fitness and moving well begin and ends with you!

We would appreciate hearing from you. Will you accept today's challenge? Share any ideas or comments below.

Be sure to get in touch with us and let us know how we can help you.

Stay in touch with us through our newsletter  ​

---