Step Counter Pedometer

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For walks of an hour or less, drink a cup of water every mile or every 20 minutes. For longer distances, drink when thirsty and be sure to replenish lost body salt with a sports drink, especially when sweating. Drinking and walking do go together – as long as the drink is water before, during and after your walk.

Hydration Guidelines for Walkers

• Plain Water: For walks of an hour or less, plain water is the best drink.
• Add Salt: When your walk is going to be longer than an hour, a sports drink or salty foods such as pretzels can help with water absorption in the body as well as replacement of salt and energy.
• Drink Before You Walk: Prepare for your walk by drinking a tall glass of water (17 ounces or 500 mL) 2 hours before your walk. This will allow time for any extra to pass through you body before you hit the trail.
• Caffeine: Avoid caffeinated beverages before your walk, they cause you to lose fluid, making you thirstier as well as making you take inconvenient stops along the way.
• Salt Before a Long Walk: Before long walks, have a bit of extra salt with your meal or snack so you will have enough sodium to stay in balance.
• Plan for More Water: Carry water with you or plan for water stops along the route where you will be able to get a full drink of a cup of water every 20 minutes. A water fountain may not be able to deliver enough water for you to get a full cup.
• Drink When Thirsty: Older guidelines said to drink before you are thirsty, but new guidelines by USATF in 2003 for long distance runners and walkers say to use thirst as a guide and to drink when thirsty.
• Drinking When Sweating: If you are sweating more than usual, drink more than usual.
• High Altitude: You lose even more fluids at high altitudes, in heat and low humidity and need to drink more than usual. Again, let thirst be your guide and drink as soon as thirsty.
• Flavor Your Water: Make your water taste good so you will want to drink more. Add a squirt of lemon and keep it cool.
• Drinking After Your Walk: After your walk, end with another tall drink of water. After a long walk, do not overdo on plain water, use sports drink and/or salty foods to replenish salts as well
• Walking Water Calculator: Find out how much water you should be taking along or drinking from fountains, etc.

Signs of Dehydration

• nausea after exercise
• dark yellow urine or no urine
• dry, sticky mouth
• dry eyes

Pure Clean Water

• Tap water is perfectly fine for most purposes – in the US and Canada.
• Some walkers prefer the taste of filtered or designer water. Be sure to clean and dry single-use bottles before refilling them.
• Do not drink water from a lake or stream unless you filter or purify it. In many places there are nasty parasites such as Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium in the “unspoiled” mountain streams – because they are in the local squirrels and other animals.

Article Source: Wendy Bumgardner, About.com Guide

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Blisters are the curse of walkers. You can prevent blisters and you can treat them properly when they develop to prevent further damage. Here are my proven techniques and products to keep your feet intact or to help them heal and quench the pain.

Lubrication
Blisters develop where rubbing from shoes and socks tears the skin. By lubricating your feet you can reduce the friction and prevent blisters.

Keep Your Feet Dry
Wet skin is easier to tear and form blisters, so wicking away sweat and keeping your feet dry are another key to preventing blisters. Use cornstarch in your socks or even use antiperspirant on your feet to keep them dry. But your socks are the real key. They must be of wicking fabric, not cotton, in order to get the moisture away from your skin.

Cover Ups
If an area is already developing a hot spot or blister, or you know it is an area that will, then covering it with a blister pad is the best way to go. Today there are many products that do this well and provide moist protection and healing before or after a blister develops.

>> Click Here To Cure Your Blisters <<

Blister Kits
Be prepared. Before you head out on a long walk, take along a blister kit to be ready to cover up any hot spots or treat any blisters. Here are good choices for compact kits with just what you need, easy to carry along.

How To Treat a Blister
First, stop and put on a cover-up at the first sign of a hot spot on your feet. But if you go too far or it pops out all at once, here are the simple steps to properly treat your blister on the trail.

Still Blistering? Maybe It’s Your Shoes
Your shoes can be rubbing you wrong. Your toes need room to expand into as your feet will swell a full shoe size on a walk. You need to be fit correctly for walking shoes. Find out how and where to get that done with our Walking Shoe Guide.

Maybe It’s Your Insoles
If you haven’t changed shoes, but changed to a new insole or arch support, that could be the culprit in causing blisters. Investigate walking with and without the insert, insole, or arch support. Insoles can reduce the space in your shoe for your foot and toes, leading to blisters.

Article Source: Wendy Bumgardner, About.com Guide

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Stretching will add flexibility and can make your walking more comfortable.

Warm up for 5 minutes at an easy walking pace before stretching, never stretch cold muscles or you risk tearing them. Incorporate mobility exercises designed to take a muscle and joint through its range of motion. You will start at the top of your body and work your way down.

Find an upright pole or fence or wall that will support you for leaning into on some stretches.

Stretches and Mobility Exercises for Walkers

Head Circles: Make 1/4 circles with your head. Start with your ear near your shoulder on one site, rotate your head around to the front, ending with your ear near the shoulder on the other side. Roll your head back to the other side. Repeat 5-10 times.

Arm Circles: With one arm at a time, make backwards arm circle with your palm facing out, thumb pointed up. Repeat 10-15 with each arm. Then make forward arm circles with palm facing in, thumb pointed down, repeat 10-15 times.

Hip Stretch: Stand up, take a half-step back with the right foot.
Bend your left knee and shift your weight back to your right hip.
While keeping the right leg straight, bend forward more and reach further down your right leg.
Hold for 15-30 seconds. Switch side.

>> Click Here To Prostretch <<

Quadiceps Stretch:
Stand erect, holding onto a wall for support.
Bend your knee behind you so that you can grasp your foot, holding your heel against your butt.
Stand up straight and push your knee gently back as far as you can, the hand just keeps the heel in place.
(For some, it is more comfortable to use the hand from the opposite side).
Hold for 15-30 seconds, then switch.

Calf Stretch: Stand an arm’s-length from the wall/post.
Lean into wall/post, bracing yourself with your arms.
Place one leg forward with knee bent – this leg will have no weight put on it.
Keep other leg back with knee straight and heel down.
Keeping back straight, move hips toward wall until you feel a stretch.
Hold 30 seconds. Relax. Repeat with other leg.

Soleus Calf Stretch:From the calf stretch position, bend the back knee so that the angle is changed to stretch the Achilles tendon. Keep your heel down, hold 15-30 seconds. Then switch legs.

Leg Extensions: Facing the pole, hold on with both hands. Bending at the knee, bring one leg forward, then extend and swing that leg back and behind. Repeat 10-15 times, then switch legs. Be cautious of hyperextending your lower back.

Cross Over Leg Swings: Holding onto the pole or fence rail with both hands, face forward. Swing one leg in front of your body gradually swinging higher. Swing about 10-15 times with each leg.

After stretching and mobility exercises, now you are ready to walk the main portion of your walk at your desired speed.

Article Source: Wendy Bumgardner, About.com Guide

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If you add just 2000 more steps a day to your regular activities, you may never gain another pound. So says research by Dr. James O. Hill of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. To lose weight, add in more steps.

Move More
Sedentary people in the USA generally move only 2000-3000 steps a day. Previous studies have shown that moving 6000 steps a day significantly reduces risk of death, and 8000-10,000 a day promotes weight loss.

How far is 2000 steps? It is about a mile. But the benefits for health and for weight management don’t depend on you walking a mile all at one time, but simply adding in more steps throughout the day.

Pedometers Count Steps
By wearing a pedometer all day, you are motivated to add in extra steps whenever you can. There are many little trips that can add up to a mile or two a day – parking further from the door of your destination, taking the stairs rather than the elevator, pace around as you talk on the telephone, take a marching-in-place minute once an hour.

“All in all, it is entertaining to ponder that such a seemingly insignificant gadget may be of practical importance in the war on obesity!” said Catrine Tudor-Locke, Ph.D., Department of Exercise and Wellness, Arizona State University in the conclusion of a report by the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, June, 2002.

Article Source: Wendy Bumgardner, About.com Guide

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The essentials of a good fitness goal are:

• Realistic: The goal should be challenging, but realistically achievable. Don’t set you sights too low, but also don’t set yourself up for failure.

• Measurable: Your goal should be stated in a way that can be measured. How many miles a week? How many pounds or inches to lose? What 10K distance time? Finishing a marathon by what date?

• Dated: Set dates by which you will attain the goal and intermediate goals along the way.

• Written down: Your goal should be made concrete so you can review it.

• Track your progress: Keep your goal in sight and see what steps you are making towards attaining it.

• Celebrate success: Along the way when you reach new milestones, it is time to celebrate. And when you achieve your overall goals, don’t hold back – reward yourself.

Setting realistic and measurable goals: You will have to know how fit you are now and what is possible. For weight loss, do not set a goal of losing more than 1-2 pounds a week or 5-10 pounds a month, and plan for plateaus along the way. For increasing speed and distance, plan for increasing no more than 10-15% a week in order to prevent injury and allow muscles to repair and build. Visit our Fitness Toolbox for fitness analysis and our Weightloss Toolbox for calculators for basal metabolic rate, calorie burning, meal planning and more.

Dating Your Goals: One of the best ways to set a date in concrete is to apply it to a major walking event. If you want to be able to walk a certain distance or have a speed goal, find an upcoming walking event and register for it. Walking Event Calendarsand Marathon Calendars. Not only will this make the goal concrete, it will also reward you for attaining it, especially if you register for an event at a great destination you’ve been wanting to visit.

Article Source: Wendy Bumgardner, About.com Guide

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