Walk the Weight Off 2012 Challenge

Walking is one of the most effective forms of exercise. It can be done almost anywhere and it is free!

To get you walking and losing weight, join in with our fun, 8 week challenge. There's also the chance to win the first prize of a Speedbox Heart Rate Monitor or runner up prizes of PM25 HRM.

Join the Challenge »

Walking helps to improve your overall health and fitness and is a great way to lose weight, tone your muscles, strengthen your heart and instill a general feeling of well-being and positive self-esteem.

US National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) data shows that people who stay slim walk twice as far as people who don’t. So, turning walking into a regular activity and focusing on the pace and distance covered will not only increase your fitness but will help you shed the pounds too!

To join in with our challenge all you have to do is:

• Pick a destination on our special map to walk to
• Walk for enough minutes (indicated for each destination) to reach the destination you have chosen
• Add your walking to your WLR Exercise Diary so your progress can be plotted on the map
• Pick up a WLR passport stamp for each destination you walk to
• Pick up a WLR Souvenir for visiting each destination
• Visit and collect 5 WLR destinations to be in with a chance of winning the prizes

Walk to at least 5 destinations throughout the 8 weeks of the challenge and not only will you be able to boost your weight loss but you could be in with a chance of winning a great prize.

What are the benefits of walking?

• It burns calories
• It can help towards maintaining a healthy weight
• It helps to boost your metabolism
• It helps to reduce body fat
• It boosts your energy levels
• It strengthens your legs
• It helps to strengthen the immune system
• It improves your circulation
• It lowers your blood pressure
• It helps to prevent and control diabetes
• It promotes positive mental health, including higher levels of self-esteem
• It helps you to manage stress and release tension
• It helps to improve the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well
• It may motivate your children to walk more if that’s what they see you doing and provides an activity to share with family members and friends
• It can be done almost anywhere
• It’s more environmentally friendly than driving
• It’s free

Walking can really boost your weight loss, even if you can only manage a small amount each day. With the tools at WLR you can see how many extra calories you could burn just by walking to your local shops or walking the kids to school instead of taking the car. You can also find out about nationwide walking events of you fancy a bit of an extra challenge and talk to like-minded people on the same weight loss journey as you. Why not take a look at the WLR Walk The Weight Off Challenge and try the tools for free by taking a free 24 hour trial.

Fit More Walking Into Your Day

At Work:

• Park your car in the space that is the furthest away and walk to the office
• If you take the train/bus get off a stop or two early and walk the rest of the way
• Walk to work
• On your lunch break go for a walk around the block
• If you need to speak to somebody in the office walk over to them instead of phoning them
• Walk to the local shop to buy your lunch
• Don’t take the lift, use the stairs

With the Kids:

• Walk the children to school/playgroup
• Walk to the park and back with the kids at the weekend
• Find the time for one walk each week with each child - make this your special time when the two of you are alone and you can chat / catch up
• Plan fun exploration walks for the kids - get out and explore your local neighbourhood
• Make it your mission to plan a new walk for each weekend - look out for local parks, country walks, etc
• If you drop your children at clubs / parties, don't spend the time driving back and forth, go for a walk instead

With Friends:

• Plan to go walking for fitness once a week with a friend
• If you plan to meet friends walk to their house, or get them to meet you half way
• Offer to join your friend when they are walking the dog
• Rather than meeting your friends for coffee, suggest going for a stroll

At Home:

• Get up early and go for a walk
• Cancel the paper / milkman and walk to the shop instead
• If you run out of essentials, walk to the local shop to buy them - don't take the car
• Walk whilst talking on the phone
• Set yourself a goal to walk up and down the stairs a certain amount of times per day
• Use the upstairs bathroom
• Whilst watching T.V. always get up and walk around during the adverts

How many calories will you burn walking?

To give you an insight of how many calories you could be burning by taking part in this challenge and getting some extra walking into your life we have worked out a couple of examples of how well you could be doing.

Female, Age 40, 5ft5 tall, Weighs 12st 7lbs and has a Moderately Sedentary lifestyle.

Walking Speed	Calories Burned In
	10 Mins	20 Mins	30 Mins
2 Mph	26.4kcal	52.7kcal	79.1kcal
3 Mph	42.7kcal	85.4kcal	128.1kcal
4 Mph	61.4kcal	122.7kcal	184.1kcal

 

Male, Age 40, 6ft tall, Weight 14st 7lbs and has a Moderately Active lifestyle.

Walking Speed	Calories Burned In
	10 Mins	20 Mins	30 Mins
2 Mph	21.6kcal	43.3kcal	64.9kcal
3 Mph	40.6kcal	81.8kcal	121.7kcal
4 Mph	62.2kcal	124.5kcal	186.7kcal

What's My Walking Speed?

When you enter your walking into your Exercise Diary be sure to select the correct walking speed (you can choose 2mph - 4mph). If you are walking to improve your fitness 4mph will be more appropriate.

You can calculate your walking speed in two ways:

1. Time how long it takes you to walk a mile (pre-measure it in the car)
   or
2. Count the number of steps you take in 1 minute

Look up your figure on the chart below and read across to find your walking speed:

Steps/Minute*	Minutes/Mile	Mile/hour
70	30	2
90	24	2.5
105	20	3
120	17	3.5
140	15	4

*Based on a 2½ foot stride

Ideas to make walking more enjoyable

• Walk your dog and let him take the lead
• Plan a route so that you can visit friends/family along the way
• Stop off half way at the park if you are walking with kids/dogs
• Arrange to meet a friend half way
• Take a Walkman with you
• Treat yourself to walking equipment, this may motivate you to walk more
• Contact local walking associations and join in
• Plan fun exploration walks for the kids - get out and explore your local neighbourhood
• Make it your mission to plan a new walk for each weekend - look out for local parks, country walks, etc
• Pick different routes each week so that you don’t risk getting bored
• Walk at various times of the day. The sights to see first thing in the morning are bound to be different to those of the afternoon or early evening

Safety tips for walking

It is very important that you keep safe and don’t put yourself at risk when walking:

• Drink plenty of fluids before, during and after your walk, especially if it’s a warm day
• Make sure someone knows where you are and what time you are expected home
• Think ahead and be aware of your surroundings
• Always carry a small amount of emergency money and a mobile phone
• Make yourself as visible as possible. Wear bright clothing during the day and white or reflective clothing at night
• Wear appropriate footwear
• Always walk facing oncoming traffic if you have to walk on the road