All Weather Walking to Lose Weight
I have to confess that I have never been keen on walking around in some types of weather. I wrote before about the zoo walking club which challenges members to walk whatever the excuse, I mean, weather. This was something to think about for me because there are some temperatures which make spending time outside, particularly exercising, less fun for me. This is mainly rain, wind, cold, hot. That might sound like most days but it isn’t. However I have always supplemented my outdoor walking to lose weight with generous doses of indoor or sheltered activity.
Now I consider the weather more before deciding against going out and realize that rain really isn’t a problem with the right clothes etc.; the same goes for cold. I’ve added in walking on those days although I may not do as much. In summer I might still do most walking in air conditioning but I can add in evening and early morning walks which are not so appealing in winter.
It started out looking as though I might not go out on Friday. Weather was medium heavy rain with strong winds and cool temperature. Definitely not freezing but still..then I remembered that zoo advising walkers not to wimp out because of bad weather. So I went. Then the next day the weather was over the top bad – it could have been the perfect excuse but I remained committed and went to the gym. Sunday was lovely and I got some good walking done.
It was interesting to compare the pedometer results from these different exercising experiences:
I did a weight class on Saturday and when I checked the activity my pedometer recorded I was disappointed as it was quite low, although the calories burned seemed relatively high. Then I had a reasonably active Sunday including several walks. The minutes counted as activity seemed low compared to the time I spent walking e.g. a 65 minute walk counted as 35 minutes of activity. But the distance registered was high, say double the weight class, however the calories burned were similar.
My pedometer assesses the level of movement before registering this as action (step, distance, minute, calorie burned). i am beginning to be impressed. This could prove useful. The energy expended is calculated by the level of motion so although on Saturday the minutes and distance were lower than I expected, the calories burned equaled the Sunday results for a one hour walk which included hills.
The distance (or steps) target is a great motivating factor which I am enjoying. So is playing with my new pedometer and I am finding that the calories burned walking is useful to know. I don’t have to guess how many calories I’ve used up during a specific walk and this is proving to be a very good indicator of my activity level.
