6 Ways to Add Power to Your Power Walks

Many people are under the impression their walks are much more powerful than they are. Here are 6 ways to add more power to your power walks.

1.) Walk faster. Walk as fast as possible without breaking into a run, taking long strides with bended knee as if almost lunging forward. Your arms will have to swing hard to help you keep this pace. It may feel awkward at first, but it will look more natural than it feels. This pace should be your ideal pace for power walking.

2.) Use your upper body. Swing arms at a 90-degree angle, rotating at the waist while holding your abs tight. This motion gives you more power and helps you move forward. If you aren't walking fast enough, this action will feel awkward because your arms will out-perform your legs. Don’t swing your arms like a maniac while your legs move at a different pace. This motion works best, and feels most natural, if they are working together.

3.) Maintain good posture. Stand tall while running or walking. Roll your shoulders back, being careful not to stick your neck out. This will train your body to maintain better posture all the time. If you aren't "training" your body on good posture while walking, you’re training your body how to maintain bad posture.

4.) Keep a steady pace. Use some method to track your pace. Whether you count your steps from one mailbox to the next or you time your workouts, you need a way to track your intensity and progress. I use the RunKeeper iPhone App, which tracks my current speed, gives me my average pace, and charts my progress.

5.) Try interval training. Improve your cardio and pace with interval training. Intervals normally include one low intensity exercise, like walking or jogging, and a high intensity exercise, like sprints, walking lunges, hops or skips. Two of my favorite fitness gadgets are the Runkeeper or GymBoss Interval Trainer. The timer sounds at preset times, reminding you to pick it up or change it up. For example, rotate two minutes of your low-intensity exercise with one minute of your high intensity exercise.

6.) Have someone video tape you. This may seem overkill, but seeing yourself on camera can be very enlightening. While taping a walking segment, I was shocked by how slow I appeared to walk. Although I thought I was really swinging my arms and taking big strides, I realized the way I felt was not the way I looked. Sometimes seeing how we really look can motivate us to perform better.