Walk it out Wednesday

I’ve been sitting — or rather, walking — on this workout for a while.

I started doing this a few times a week in March when my feet started hurting, and running wasn’t an option. I haven’t been doing it as often now that I’m able to do more activities, but I still go back to it once a week or so because it’s fun.

Pull on your leg warmers and get ready to channel your inner Suzanne Somers or Richard Simmons. I don’t know why, but I feel like an 80s fitness-video superstar when I’m doing this workout.

What you need:

• 5-10 lb. weights (I’d start with 5 — you’re going to be doing a lot of reps)
• A track, a treadmill, or somewhere you can walk that you can do laps and is close to a place you can put down your weights.

What you do:

• Walk a lap (or 3-5 mins) while adding in the following upper body exercises:
  • Alternating bicep curls
  • Alternating tricep pushbacks
  • Overhead presses (do half a lap of these unless you alternate)
  • Dumbbell rows (half a lap of these unless you alternate, and don’t bend over — can’t find what I’m looking for to show you!)
  • Alternating front lateral raises
  • Alternating side lateral raises

It’s a pretty flexible workout, and you’ll be surprised how fast this tones your arms.

You can repeat if you’d like, decide to add more weight if it’s too easy, or do 2 laps instead of one.  I usually end up doing something like 80-90 reps per lap. It’s also nice because it turns walking into something that burns a few more calories. My 85-90 BPM heart rate turns into 115-120 really fast when I’m doing these moves (and more like 130 when I am doing overhead presses).

This is why it’s important that you pick a lighter weight…

You’re going to do a ton of repetitions, and you also need to have perfect form because you’re going to be using your back, abs, and legs to stabilize while you’re walking and you want to get the most benefit out of this workout as you can, while avoiding injury.

Let me know if you give this a try. It’s something I like to do as a go-to on days that I’m not really into going to the gym, but know I’ll be super antsy if I don’t move.

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What kinds of workouts do you enjoy? 

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