If you are an avid walker but you just can’t seem to get your body to change any further; check out these great tips from fitness magazine. You don’t have to settle for a boring walk around the park; you can get in shape with this upper body blitz.
30-Minute Upper-Body Blitz
Forget hand weights or park-bench push-ups. You can walk your way to sleek shoulders, a sculpted back and toned arms without them. “Just making fists with your hands for these moves signals the arm muscles to contract and adds a little extra burn,” says walking pro Tina Vindum.
The Routine
Warm up by doing three big, slow arm circles in each direction to prime your shoulder joints. Walk for 5 minutes, then do the first exercise here, matching the pace of the arm movements to your footfalls — no stopping! Repeat until you’ve done all four moves; finish with 5 minutes of walking.
Upright Row
Targets: Shoulders, upper back, and abs
- Make a fist with each hand and start with hands near hips, palms facing you.
- Bring both fists up to armpits, skimming torso with knuckles and keeping elbows bent out to sides higher than hands throughout movement.
- Squeeze shoulder blades and upper-back muscles together to draw elbows back, raising fists to shoulder height.
- Lower hands to start.
- Do 25 reps.
Chest Press
Targets: Chest, biceps, and abs
- Make a fist with each hand, arms straight down by sides, palms forward. (Beginners can keep hands open.)
- Keeping shoulders down and back, contract abs and lift both arms straight in front of you, palms up, to press pinkies together at shoulder height.
- Squeeze chest, then lower arms to start.
- Do 25 reps.
Lateral Press
Targets: Shoulders and triceps
- Make a fist with each hand and raise elbows out to sides at shoulder height, fists at armpits, palms facing in.
- Keeping elbows fixed at shoulder height (as if you have a broomstick over shoulders), slowly swing fists down until they’re perpendicular to ground and then out, ending with arms extended straight out to sides, palms facing behind you.
- Bend elbows to return to start.
- Do 25 reps.
One-Arm Reverse Flye
Target: Shoulders
- Place left hand on left hip and, making a fist with right hand, rest it on top of left hand, palm facing in. Draw shoulders down and back.
- With right elbow slightly bent, lift right arm on a diagonal to right and up, ending with right hand slightly higher than right shoulder, palm forward.
- Lower right arm to return to start.
- Do 25 reps. Switch arms, repeat.
This routine will get your heart rate up and increase your calorie burning. These exercises don’t have to be limited to walking. You can add them to your hiking or your everyday cardio routine. Any moving is good moving. Exercise and calorie burning is cumulative…. everything counts!!!
Adria Ali
(CES, PES, CPT, BS)
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