Walking for Weight Loss

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Provided by Prevention

If the scale hasn't budged in weeks, your problem could be sleepwalking. No, not the middle-of-the-night kind. This type of sleepwalking strikes in broad daylight, and veteran walkers are most at risk. It happens when you become so good at your workouts that your body gets lulled into maintenance mode, burning fewer calories than before.

"Walkers become too efficient from covering the same ground, at the same speed, day after day," says Michelle Adams, fitness director at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires, a health spa in Lenox, Mass. The result: the dreaded plateau.

The fix: "Trick your body past its plateau by walking at a harder intensity for short bursts," says Adams, who designed this one-month plan of attack. It wakes up your walks with interval training, hill climbing and strengthening moves designed to crank up your calorie burn and -- finally -- help you shed stubborn pounds. Once you've reached your goal, you can resume your regular walking workout or continue with one of the plans that follow.

Remember to do a three- to five-minute warm-up and cool-down before and after each walk, and don't skip the rest days (two or three per week).

Week 1: Build Your Base

Monday: Grab a stopwatch, and time yourself while you walk as fast as you comfortably can for one mile on relatively flat ground. (You can measure a route beforehand using your car odometer.) This is your target to beat. Walk a second mile at a leisurely level-4 pace. (See "How Hard Should You Push Yourself" for an explanation of the various levels.)

Tuesday: Walk for 10 minutes at intensity level 5. Walk an additional five minutes at level 6, and five more minutes at level 5. Total time: 20 minutes.

Wednesday: Rest day

Thursday: Walk for 10 minutes at level 6. Now stop for a forward-lunge workout to firm up your thighs and butt: Step your left foot two to three feet in front of your right. Keeping your left knee directly over your ankle, bend your left knee and lower your right knee toward the ground. Then press back up. Do 10 of these lunges, then switch legs. Continue walking for 10 minutes at level 5. Total time: 23 minutes

Friday: Rest day

Weekend: Walk for 30 minutes at level 6 on Saturday or Sunday. "Congratulations!" says Adams. "Your aerobic capacity should already feel stronger, and by adding lunges you're strengthening your walking muscles, too." Total time: 30 minutes

Week 2: Pick Up Steam

Monday: Spend one minute speed-walking (level 8), moving as fast as you can. Recover for two minutes while walking at a moderate pace (level 5 or 6). Alternate between speedwalking for one minute and recovery walking for two minutes, 10 times. Total time: 30 minutes

Tuesday: Walk for 10 minutes at level 6. Up the intensity to level 7 for 10 minutes, and finish with another 10 minutes at level 6. Total time: 30 minutes

Wednesday: Walk for 15 minutes at level 6. Go for an additional 15 minutes at level 7. Total time: 30 minutes

Thursday: Walk for 10 minutes at level 7, and another 10 minutes at level 8. Finish with 10 more minutes at level 7. You'll burn up to 20 percent more calories this way than you would by staying at level 7 for the whole time, Adams says. Total time: 30 minutes

Friday: Rest day

Weekend: Time yourself as you walk as fast as you comfortably can for one mile, to see whether you've improved from Week 1. "If you haven't gotten faster, push yourself a little harder for the next two weeks," says Adams. Remember to take a second rest day.

NEXT:
Weeks 3 and 4