Summer is the only time I enjoy using a gym. It is a fantastic back up for when I don’t feel cool enough to vigorously exercise. The best walking for weight loss in summer is my favourite DVD in the air conditioning at home.

Some tips for walking to lose weight when the weather is hot or humid:

Hydrate carefully. Too much is not a good thing either but do make sure you’re sipping small amounts regularly. If you do vigorous exercise in the heat try the old trick of weighing yourself before and after, replacing the difference in your weight with its equivalent in water.

Avoid the heat of midday for exercising outside. Use sunscreen. Wear a hat and cover up in light weight clothing appropriate for exercise.

Even when exercising in air conditioning, if the temperature or humidity generally is high, your body temperature will go up more quickly than it would in winter. This is because your body is already working harder to keep your median temperature low.

It may be that the same amount of exercise you always do is actually more tiring at this time of year.

It is important to get your heated body back to normal as quickly as possible if you have done too much. Use a towel or washer wrung out in iced water on the top of the head. Repeat until a lower or normal temperature is achieved. Or tip a bottle of water over your head.

Dehydration means thicker blood, which requires the heart to work harder to push it around your body. Keep the water up!

Try some strengthening exercises to insure against injury if you’ve just sat through winter and spring. Walking is the best way to start back into exercise without over doing it but even then some parts of your body may need some special attention.

E.g.

ankles-use a step to stretch the tendons by standing with your toes on the step and allowing your heels to go back over and down below the step a few inches. Hold for 10. Repeat 10 times. Stand normally then rise onto your toes for a count of 10. Repeat.

toes- pick up marbles or other small objects with your bare toes to strengthen them.

calves -stretches will alleviate tightness.

thighs- these muscles can be strengthened by lifting the knee towards the chest while standing. In the meantime try walking up steep steps slowly.

Walking to lose weight in summer is cool!

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There are many appropriate events for walking to lose weight by different groups, organisations and individuals around the world.

This Walking to Lose Weight program endorses opportunities for combining walking projects and weight loss by participating in fun min (or maxi) events which target walking (to lose weight) and training for events we’re doing.

Walking to lose weight is a spiral of walking, weight loss, walking, weight loss, walking, weight loss… at some point it becomes walking, weight control, walking, weight control, walking, weight control. With this in mind you need to learn to love it.

Yesterday on Day 28 of the 31 Ways to Lose Weight Walking we talked about having a specific purpose which will focus you and enable a greater than usual effort to jump your progress up a level.

Participating is a wonderful way to walk. For those who aren’t able to use this type of event, look at creating your own fun…many will piggyback their efforts with others who are doing the real thing.

Whether from circumstances or choice some people are not joiners and will not be involved in these group efforts but that doesn’t mean they can’t walk along doing a ‘pseudo-walk’.

Suggestions for creatively increasing the fun in walking to lose weight:

Visit your office headquarters, and learn about the area while walking around it; “Write” a book using mp3/4 player with microphone; Go to the closest ‘tourist’ town and find all about it by walking around it; Then walk around that next door town, get to know it; Walk around your home town. Do a new section each day. Don’t think you know an area if you’ve only driven through it; Track (virtual) your favourite actor/TV star- visit their home, go on tour with them; Learn (make believe) a hobby- walk to the appropriate sports store and activity area, rent DVDs and walk while watching; Take a famous train trip, e.g. walking the distance between stations; Walk to the birthplace of your mother and tell her of your progress; Listen to an exciting audio book only while walking, make it something special; Walk a long beach in the early morning and study the geography, surf board riders, fishing; Visit Paris, Rome and Venezuela; With a tourist guide and map, tour world famous art galleries; Learn exotic languages.

You’ve got the general idea. You’re bound to have better ones appealing to you in particular. Use walking for weight loss to enhance any other goals you have by embracing the time it provides for you to focus on motivating other dreams to fruition.

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Once you become disciplined about making walking for weight loss a priority, it will be successful. It requires you to put your well being first. Others may not adjust as quickly as you would like to your new choices- walking to work instead of getting the bus, for instance. On the other hand some changes will actually benefit your relationships. Younger friends will appreciate your willingness to try new activities. You are more likely to get the housework done, as it qualifies as efficient exercise. You sleep better and are in a good mood more often. You are substituting newer, more beneficial, behaviors for less disciplined ones.

The best way to manage walking daily is to make it easy to do: Discover what you like about it and reinforce those opportunities. For instance, do you prefer walking outside on a naturally rough path or on an easy established path? Do you feel better doing short or long walks? Do you want to walk at lunch time or take longer weekend walks? You probably will find that you have preferred ways of walking which improve your likelihood of walking regularly.

If you’re going to walk from work, and are dressed for an office environment you may need more comfortable shoes and maybe a change of clothing, an umbrella for rain or hot weather, etc., so plan for it.

If you normally walk outside and the weather or other circumstances forces you to walk inside, find a shopping centre, or even march on the spot in front of the television, if you don’t have the space necessary to walk around.

An even better option is Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds.

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