Question:
I am walking almost every nite, but not a very quick pace--

My questions although probably very dumb, Is how do a speed up my walking, ( i know walk faster), but i find i have a hard time picking up the pace even for a short amount of time. I know walking is better than no walking at all, but im tired of people lapping me when im walking lol. thanks    — paulsgirl (posted on August 30, 2002)

August 30, 2002
Hi Sharon! Try lengthening your stride - take bigger steps when you walk. That's also an excellent toner for your abdomen. Best of luck to you! :-)
   — Angie M.

August 30, 2002
Speed comes with time. This may not be what you wanted to hear, but it's important not to overload yourself all at once. Although it is important to walk fast enough to keep your heart level up for an effective workout, you don't want to get too tired too fast. Just try to get a little faster every day. Sooner or later, you'll be a speed walker that no one like to walk in front of at the mall =). Best of luck to you.
   — Sarah K.

August 30, 2002
Hi! I always find that if I have on some really fast paced music I really walk alot faster. Unfortunately it works for my driving too LOL. If you can tolerate TECHNO type music or any of the music that people do aerobics to they have an ultra fast beat which really pushes me along. Good Luck with it. It will also come with time but this might boost you in the interim. Penny :-)
   — pcollin4

August 30, 2002
hello walking with music is a good idea i might start at your normal pace for 10 minutes then try to speed up for like 5 minutes..do this at intervals during your walk...eventually you'll be walking faster for 10 minutes and slower at 5... make sure you warm up before hand and cool down afterwards - stretch those muscles! 8-) good luck! kate open rny 6-14-01 pre op: 268lbs goal weight: 135lbs current weight: 130lbs
   — jkb

August 30, 2002
I usually let my body tell me when I'm ready to move faster. I use a tread mill to walk, only because it makes it easy to track my progress. If I feel like the walk is too easy I either kick up the resistance or turn the dial to make it move a little faster. I felt like I was ready to run last week so I kicked it up to a running speed for a minute, then I worked myself up to four minutes, which was too much so now I'm back down to a couple minutes (In addition to walking for about 35 minutes) It has really been just a matter of building up my endurance and not so much the weight loss that has helped me with my speed. I started at about 2 mph and I'm up to a walking speed of about 3.7 and a running speed 4.7. When my body is ready I will add more time to the running. My goal is to run for at least 20 minutes at a good pace 5 days a week. Now I'm walking for 35 minutes 4-5 days a week. I hope this makes sense and is helpful. -Kim open RNY 7/17/01 -127
   — KimBo36