Elsewhere in our website you may have read our articles on running to lose weight. The reality is, any physical activity if done in more than 10 – 20 minutes will allow you to lose weight.

Any physical activity will cause you to lose weight and increase your strength. This applies to walking as well. Now most of you will be thinking, hang on a minute, how boring can you get?

Walking may be boring and not the most enjoyable activity to perform but it works and works well especially for those of us, who are not in any physical condition to do more intensive activity. You have to start somewhere and if you don’t know where that is, select the activity of walking.

By walking we do not mean light stroll of the type you do on the beach. Brisk walking, fast pace walking or walking on tracks up hills works much better. If you don’t have access to good walking tracks, then walk on the sidewalks or on a field. The pace and duration should be hard and long enough for you to break into a light sweat after a couple of minutes. Walking up a flight of stairs works even better.

Aim to walk at least 3 times a week with a rest between each training day. Wear comfortable shoes and training clothes and pick a time of day when it’s not too hot. You may like walking in the hot sun because you may sweat more but you probably wouldn’t get much out of it except for your body becoming dehydrated and getting burned. Avoid walking in extreme weather conditions. You may end up hurting yourself.

Walking is good for toning your body to prepare you for more intensive exercises later. Some people choose to carry small dumbbells when they walk but that’s not necessary. Keep improving the intensity of your walks. After a few weeks or months, you can then move on to light jogging and then on to full running. After a while you will notice your new level of fitness and will even lose a few pounds a week.

It is more beneficial to supplement your walking with other activities like skipping, swimming, exercising and weight training.