Types of Walking

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Types of Walking

Walking seems pretty basic, and it really is. For most of human history, that's how you got from place to place, if there wasn't a horse or someone to carry your sedan chair available. Of course, walking is still a major mode of transportation, but modern lifestyles have made us so sedentary we have to purposely walk or do other aerobic activities to maintain health. Let's just survey the forms of fitness walking.

If you just walk half an hour or so a day you will improve your health. If you walk farther or faster you can improve health and fitness as well. Power walking is a term often used by people who are serious about walking for fitness and many who want to make it their sport. Originally it was used to refer to walking with hand weights, but now it can just refer to walking at a rapid pace. (I don't recommend walking with weights. It can be hard on your joints.) Racewalking is a distinct sport. It has had a place in the Olympics for over 100 years. It can satisfy competitive urges for runners who have damaged their knees, for instance. It has rules about the form you must use if you compete. Racewalking technique can help fitness walkers go faster. Hiking is another inexact term. It usually involves walking some distance over rough terrain or trails, sometimes involving hills, and being in a natural environment. Urban hiking is a fairly new activity that brings the spirit of hiking into a city environment. Trekking implies traveling long distances on foot, and now generally is applied to hiking or trekking with the use of poles. You can use your Nordic walking poles for occasional trekking, but if you are going to do a lot of climbing or rough terrain hiking, you should get regular trekking poles. Nordic walking has elements of these activities, but is really a sport of its own. Nordic walking is versatile and can be done on a daily basis with no travel required, which makes it ideal for improving fitness. It is almost as convenient as regular fitness walking, and much more fun.

   

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