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At Chatelaine Walks, you’ll find valuable advice for maintaining a healthy weight, eating well, squeezing exercise into a busy schedule and living a balanced life — and by signing up for the monthly newsletter, you’ll never miss an update.
You can also connect with other readers and trade tips, keep track of your walks and find out about community events. And you’ll learn about new tools and features on the site, such as our new iGoogle gadget for “Recipe of the day.” Here’s a sampling of last month’s newsletter:
All that, plus a coupon! You can’t lose!
Once, after a run I felt particularly proud of, I searched online for a tool that could tell me how far I’d run. I found this: Gmaps Pedometer, a website that calculates the distance of any route.
First, enter an address or location in the “Jump to” space, up top. Then, click “Start recording” and double-click on your starting point.
Double-click on spots along your route until you’ve reached your finishing point. The total distance will show up on the left. And if you’re a runner or a cyclist, you can turn on the calorie counter, type in your weight and find out approximately how many calories you’ll burn along your route.
No matter where you are in the world, you can calculate distance with this nifty website, since it’s synced in with Google Maps. So, when I’m visiting my parents out of town, I no longer have any excuses for missing out on running!
Race over to Chatelaine Walks for more: the low-down on heart-rate monitors, rules for staying hydrated when you walk, and tips for walking away stress and finding serenity en-route.
One thing that can motivate me even when I don’t feel like exercising is a rockin’ playlist. In fact, when I’m listening to music, I tend to move faster and work out longer. And it turns out that there’s science behind that: Studies have shown that listening to music during exercise can improve results and distract from fatigue. The key is choosing songs with the right tempo, according to Costas Karageorghis, an associate professor of sport psychology at Brunel University in England, whose research was profiled in the New York Times.
The most motivating songs have a tempo between 120 and 140 beats-per-minute, or B.P.M. Check out the ultimate walking playlist on Chatelaine Walks — it suggests songs for every pace, from strolling to speed-walking. And here are some of my favourites, found on the website Dj BPM Studio:
Warming-up: 90 BPM
Cream “White Room”
Sublime “Santeria”
Ramones “Judy Is A Punk”Going for a stroll: 115 BPM
Bangles “Manic Monday”
The Four Seasons “Sherry”
Neil Young “Helpless”Brisk speed: 130 BPM
Cyndi Lauper “I Drove All Night”
B-52s “Love Shack”
Elvis Presley “Return To Sender”Full-on power walk: 145 BPM
Queen “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
The Beatles “Love Me Do”
The Cure “Boys Don’t Cry”From speed-walk to sprint: 155 BPM
The Police “Roxanne”
Elton John “Bad Side of the Moon”
Queen “Don’t Stop Me Now”
And head over to Chatelaine Walks for more motivation: instant mood-boosters, tips for revving up your walking routine, and how pets can improve your health.
No walking routine is complete without a stretching routine. But should you stretch before you walk, or afterwards? I’ll always remember what one of my high school gym teachers told me: Think of your muscles as pasta. Uncooked, it’s brittle and doesn’t bend easily without snapping. But warm it up, and it’s soft and malleable. You should always aim to do light cardio — about 10 to 15 minutes of walking — before your stretching routine.
Here are three great walking stretches from McMaster University — they’re easy to do, and over time, they’ll increase your flexibility and prevent injury:
Quadriceps Stretch
STANDING OPTION
Put your left hand against a wall for stability. With your right hand, hold your right ankle and bring it towards your buttocks (your left knee should be slightly bent and your hips slightly forward).SEATED OPTION
Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair. Lower your knee toward the floor and press it back under the chair.Hamstring Stretch
STANDING OPTION
Stand with your left leg on a chair or a stable object that is a comfortable height. Your supporting leg should be slightly bent. Keep your back straight. Slowly bend towards the lifted leg until you feel the stretch at the back of your elevated leg.SEATED OPTION
Sitting on the ground, extend your left leg (left knee should be slightly bent). Bend your right leg so that your knee is pointing outward and the sole of your shoe is touching the inside of your left leg. Slowly lean forward, bending from you hips, until you feel the stretch in the back of your left leg.Calf Stretch
STANDING OPTION
Stand about three feet from a wall. Lean forward and put your hands against the wall at shoulder height (don’t bend at the waist). Put one foot forward (both knees should be slightly bent). Keeping both heels on the ground, lean your body slowly torward the wall.SEATED OPTION
Sitting on a chair, plant one heel on the floor and gently lift your toes up and back as far as you can.
And stop by Chatelaine Walks for more: common walking injuries and how to treat them, foods that’ll protect your body and prevent injury, and how to relieve tension by giving yourself a massage.
Jun
01
This is a special week on Healthwise: It’s a week devoted to walking — how this simple form of exercise can boost your fitness, not to mention help you drop pounds and maintain a healthy weight. And to kick things off, here’s just one example:
You’ve heard before that taking the stairs is a small change that can improve your health, but this study, published in the European Heart Journal, measured the actual physical benefits. The study looked at 69 hospital employees who walked the stairs exclusively for 12 weeks, and found that, on average:
Lung capacity: up 8.6 percent
Body fat: down 1.7 percent
Waist circumference: down 1.8 percent
Diastolic blood pressure: down 2.3 percent
LDL (bad) cholesterol: down 3.9 percent
Check back with Healthwise all week for more information and advice about walking.
And swing over to Chatelaine Walks for articles and tips for getting started, including: our quiz to find out what kind of walker you are; our guide for buying walking shoes; expert advice for breaking out of your exercise rut; the best foods for walkers; and tips for starting your own walking club.
