Walkingis a great way to improve cardio fitness andhelp with weight loss，但都是初学者和更高级的步行者eventually hit plateaus. Instead of giving up when your workouts don’t equate to the gains you’d like to see, try these four tips to help revitalize your routine:
1. VARY YOUR WORKOUT
Avoiding the same workout is essential to pushing through a plateau. Here are three tips for changing things up:
- Up the intensity.
If you’re always walking at the same speed, your body adapts to the effort and it won’t be as difficult as when you first started. A few times per week, increase the intensity byincluding short intervalsorplaying with the inclineon the treadmill. - Increase the distance.
Like intensity, you’ll need to vary your distance to keep your workouts challenging. Make it a point to go longer on one or two walks per week on the days you aren’t doing short, high-intensity efforts.. - Pick a new route.
While a dedicated route around your neighborhood might be convenient, it’s important tochange your route and terrainto see progress. Go for ahike，尝试穿过树林甚至walk on the sandif you live near a beach.
2. INCREASE YOUR STEP COUNT
Sticking to the same three-day per week routine could work for the first few months, but eventually you’ll need to walk more if you want to reach your goals and avoid a plateau. Try working towardfive days of walking per weekand finding ways to increase the frequency during the day. That could mean going for a brief 10-minute walk around the house or上楼梯而不是电梯at the office. If you need more inspiration, here are50 ways to walk more.
3. INCORPORATE CROSS-TRAINING
Getting stronger by mixing in a variety of activities can help you continue to improve. Astrength-training program,swimmingandcyclingare all great activities that can help you build muscle and improve your endurance.
Including a few short跑步冲刺在步行中，锻炼也可能是挑战身体以适应更高强度的好方法。首先每周增加一两次20-30秒的努力，然后从那里构建。只要确保听取您的身体，在需要时请假几天，并慢慢进展以避免受伤。
4. BE PATIENT
Sometimes progress doesn’t happen as quickly as you might’ve hoped. Rather than getting discouraged, remember sticking to it and being persistent enough to push through plateaus eventually yields results.
Keep in mind, too, if you’re judging your progress on weight loss,the number on the scalemight not provide an accurate measurement of the work you’ve put in. This is becausemuscle weighs more than fat. Instead, measuring your waist, hips and other parts of your body might be a more accurate way to determine if you’re progressing.
