Studio 5 Health & Fitness Contributor Melanie Douglass shares a new summer walking program that combines burning extra calories, good friends, and sunshine.
Don’t let your next walk go to waste. If you want to burn more calories with each and every step, plus chat it up with your friends (or make new friends)… then give this program a try!
The way you walk, the pace at which you walk, and the style of your walk has a major impact on your total workout calorie burn. Check out my personal walking test of calorie burns for different styles of walking:
So, a leisure walk with friends can burn about:
120 calories / 30 minutes
But – by shaking up your walking workout with a program that combines all these walking styles (like “Melanie’s Summer Girlfriend Walk Workout #1”), your walk could burn:
330 calories / 30 minutes
That’s almost triple the calorie burn! Why? Because variety, speed changes, and cross-training to incorporate upper, core and lower-body muscle groups will burn more calories throughout a workout.
The above calorie burns are based on my personal test using a heart rate monitor, and while your numbers may be a bit higher or lower, the percentage increase by changing up your walk will be similar. You can double or triple the rate of a leisure walk with simple variety. And yes, a speed walk can really burn double the calories of a leisure walk – that’s one massive change that can start changing your body, on the very first workout.
So, let’s do this: get some friends and commit to do these workouts at least three days per week. I created workout for each summer month – so give it your best, stay committed and enjoy feeling more energy – and a little lighter – each day.
Click Here for printable
Summer Girlfriend Walk Workout #1
– Goal: 3 times per week for the entire month of June
– Workout time ~35 minutes
· Leisure walk x 1 minutes (warm up)
· Repeat this sequence 5 times (for 30 minutes of cardio work)
o Speed walk x 3 minutes
o Side Shuffle x 1 min (30 seconds right/30 seconds left)
o Walking Lunge x 1 min
o Ab Walk x 1 minute
· Triceps Dips x 2 minutes
· Push-ups x 2 minutes
Click Here for printable
Summer Girlfriend Walk Workout #2
– Goal: 3 times per week for the entire month of July
– Workout time ~45 minutes
· Leisure walk x 1 minutes (warm up)
· Repeat this sequence 5 times (for 40 minutes of cardio work)
o Speed walk x 5 minutes
o Side Shuffle x 1 min
o Walking Lunge x 1 min
o Ab Walk x 1 minute
· Triceps Dips x 2 minutes
· Push-ups x 2 minutes
Click Here for printable
Summer Girlfriend Walk Workout #3
– Goal: 3 times per week for the entire month of August
– Workout time ~57 minutes
· Leisure walk x 1 minutes (warm up)
· Repeat this sequence 5 times (for 50 minutes of cardio work)
o Speed walk x 4 minutes
o Side Shuffle x 2 min
o Walking Lunge x 2 min
o Ab Walk x 2 minute
· Triceps Dips x 3 minutes
· Push-ups x 3 minutes
Lastly, if you are about to take on a summer of great walking workouts, then here are a couple tips to make your workouts better:
1) Carry a stopwatch: a smartphone app, a watch, or a real stopwatch… but have at least one way to monitor your time, so you can stay on track and on pace! And for pace? Think fast!
2) Wear good shoes. Make sure you have a shoe that supports your foot and that is made for walking or running. If your feet hurt, you won’t last long.
3) Stay hydrated. Try to walk early morning or later in the evening so you don’t get too hot. Most people need ~8 oz. of water before a workout; 4 – 8 oz every 15-minutes during the workout; and then 8 – 24 oz. after a workout, depending on how temperatures and how much you sweat. Because these are workouts <60 minutes in length, skip fluid replacement drinks that contain sugar or caffeine, and just go with plain, cold water.
Click Here for Melanie’s go-to playlist for the summer walking program.
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