Dr. George L. Dixon - "Talking Fitness"

Nice day. Safe place. Level path. Someone you like with you. Comfortable shoes. Strike out. Move along. Talk to each other. If you can say 12 words in a row, but not twenty words, you are probably about the right level in terms of effort. If you can walk twenty minutes in a row, you are ready to start measuring the distance and the time. Maybe even measuring your pulse beat? The 20 minutes can be 10 minutes out and back, or in a circle.

Tomorrow do the same thing. If you are quite sore in your legs from yesterday, do 8 minutes out and 8 back. If not, do 15 minutes out and 15 back. Your goal over the next three to four weeks is to walk two miles in 30-40 minutes. This is about 3.5 miles per hour. Each day walk different routes, distances and times. This will actually change the muscle usage. As you walk, think of your legs as wagon wheels with the hub at your hip. Now I didn't say, do 360 degrees, just roll over your foot as if they were rounded. Change from time to time the length of your stride and also the cadence (number of your steps per minute).

Walking is not a competition, unless you wish it to be. Take one day off each week.

To start even more gently, try the advice of the United States Department of Health and Social services. Start with 5 minutes twice daily, out side is grand, but anywhere is fine, even a treadmill. Add two minutes to each walk each week for six weeks. By then you will be walking 17 minutes twice daily, this may be a good point to join them into one 34 minute walk daily. Then add 4-5 minutes daily to each walk until the twelfth week and you will find yourself walking about 2 miles in just 30 minutes, and that is just half of your walk!!. If music helps, 3.5 miles per hour will correspond to about 120 beats of music per minute.

Bare your face and arms for 20 minutes in the beautiful sunlight and your body will make a great dose of Vitamin D, to use in making bone. Then cover up with hat and sun screen (15 at least).

Destination Fitness Videos can help with your treadmill motivation.

More help is available in "Exercise a la Carte", here, at your bookstore or call 800-624-4952.