If you’re looking for a way to build muscle and lose fat, then you should incorporate some form of exercise into your daily routine. Many people think that the only way to achieve those goals is by focusing on losing weight; however, that isn’t the case.
To build muscle and shed fat, you must first target specific areas of your body. Fortunately, it’s easier than most people think to do this through regular exercise.
Regular exercise helps to stimulate muscle growth because it causes the muscles to contract against resistance. For example, when you pull a rope or press down on a weight bar, contraction takes place in your muscles because they are being forced to work against resistance.
The more often you contract your muscles against resistance (such as through walking), the faster they will grow and the more toned they will become over time.
WALKING is one of the easiest ways to build muscle and lose weight. Instead of driving or taking public transportation, simply walk to your destination instead.
According to a study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, walking approximately 11 km (7 miles) with brief periods of rest results in more total muscle activity than traveling by car or walking at a normal pace for the same distance.
Moreover, walking moderately for about half an hour after eating has been shown to reduce appetite as well. It’s important to note that while walking does have many benefits, it’s not necessarily easy for everyone to incorporate into their daily routines.
Walking is an ideal way for most people to get physical exercise and build up the muscles in their legs and hips. Here are some tips on how you can start incorporating more walks into your day:
- Start with short walks
- When you’re just starting out, it’s best to start with shorter walks rather than longer jaunts so that your body can adjust.
- Walk on flat terrain as often as possible
- Flat ground provides you with greater surface area coverage, which means more calories burned during your walk compared to hills and slopes. However, if this isn’t possible where you live, then find another area where you can walk on flat ground.
- Add inclines into your walks whenever possible
- Doing so will help burn more calories faster since your body needs to work harder in order to cover the same ground
How to build muscle with walking
There’s no denying that walking is an excellent way to increase your muscle mass. However, this doesn’t mean that you just need to put on your sneakers and start walking around.
Instead, you’ll need to find the right walking workout routine for you that incorporates the right exercises and sets to help you reshape your body.
When it comes to the exercises, you’ll want to focus on compound movements that include barbells, dumbbells, resistance bands, and kettlebells as opposed to isolation exercises that work on your biceps and triceps and don’t address the whole physique.
You should also be sure to vary your workout routine and make sure that you don’t just do the same exercises every time you walk.
Walk to burn calories
There’s no doubt that walking is an excellent way to torch calories while lowering your body fat percentage faster than taking the treadmill. However, you shouldn’t just rely on walking for this reason. Instead, you’ll need to incorporate other cardio exercises into your routine to achieve the desired results.
Even so, walking is still a great form of cardio and a great way to build muscles and improve cardiovascular health. When it comes to how many calories you burn when you walk, you can find out by calculating your basal metabolic rate, or BMR.
This is based on the number of calories that your body expends when it’s at rest. However, if you’re walking at a brisk pace, then your body is using more energy than when it’s at rest. So, BMR is actually higher than the calories you burn while walking at a normal pace.
You can find out how many calories you burn while walking by using this formula: Calories burned while walking = Your weight in pounds x 0.04527 x (walking speed in miles per hour) / 6.2
Improve your balance and coordination
Many people have misconceptions about how walking builds muscle and burns calories when in fact, both are true. However, what people often overlook is the fact that walking is a great way to improve your balance and coordination as well.
This is important because it helps you to avoid falling while walking and prevent injuries that can interrupt your workouts and progress. Moreover, it’s also beneficial because it improves your balance and coordination which in turn helps to improve your agility and strength.
Build strength and endurance
While walking may be beneficial for building muscle mass and burning calories, it’s also a fantastic way to develop strength and endurance. This is important because it prevents your body from becoming injured while also helping you to walk longer.
Walk for health benefits
Just like walking can help you to lose or gain weight, it can also help to improve your general health. For example, walking is great for lowering blood pressure and reducing your risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. Moreover, it’s also been shown to reduce stress, which is great for your mental health.
Summary
Walking is an excellent exercise for building muscle mass, improving balance and coordination, strengthening joints, and improving your cardiovascular health. However, walking isn’t just for cardio and you need to find the right walk workout routine for you.