Go Backwards!
Walk backward every once in a while – just be sure to do it on a safe, even surface, such as a track. The unfamiliar motion improves your coordination and burns calories fast.

Walk Yourself 10 Lbs. Thinner in 6 Weeks!

Whether you’re in a rush to lose weight or want to go at a moderate pace, our no-stress walking plan puts you on the right path

Want to trim down for spring? Get a walking plan in place now, and you’ll sail slimly into the warmer months. Designed by Liz Neporent, president of the corporate medical and fitness consulting firm Wellness 360, the program contains two options. For the fastest results, follow the main schedule and eat 400 fewer calories than normal every day — you’ll lose about 10 lbs. by Thanksgiving. If you want to go slower, walk six days a week following the “take-it-easier option” directions on the schedule and cut out 300 calories per day for a 6-lb. weight loss by turkey day.

Day 1: Quick Start

1. Walk slowly for 5 minutes.
2. Walk at a moderate pace (stride briskly) for 35 minutes.
3. Cool down by walking slowly for another 5 minutes.
Total calories burned: 200
Take-it-easier option: Same drill.

Day 2: Add It Up

1. Walk at a moderate pace for 30 minutes.
2. Throughout the day, burst into 5- to 15-minute intervals of fast walking (during which you are breathing hard). The intervals should add up to 30 minutes.
Total calories burned: 300
Take-it-easier option: Skip the first step, and throughout the day, burst into 5- to 15-minute intervals of fast walking (during which you are breathing hard). The intervals should add up to 60 minutes.
Total calories burned: 275

Day 3: Speed Demon

1. Warm up by walking slowly for 5 minutes.
2. Walk at a moderate pace for 2 minutes and as fast as you can for 3 minutes.
3. Repeat the second step 10 times.
4. Walk slowly for 5 minutes to cool down.
Total calories burned: 290
Take-it-easier option: Follow directions above, but repeat the second step 7 times (not 10).
Total calories burned: 200

Day 4: The Hills Are Alive

1. Warm up by walking at a moderate pace on a level surface for 5 minutes.
2. Walk up a fairly steep hill at a moderate pace for 3 minutes. Walk downhill for 2 minutes. Repeat the up-and-down cycle 10 times. If you can’t find hills to climb, stairs will do, says Denise Tryner, founder of Denise Tryner Fitness Consulting, in Denver, Colo. If your knees hurt when you walk down stairs or hills (going up is usually easier on the joints), you can take the stairs up and an elevator down, or walk in place or on a flat surface for the “downhill” length of time.
3. Cool down by walking at a comfortable pace for 5 minutes.
Total calories burned: 465
Take-it-easier option: Follow the instructions above, but repeat the up-and-down walking cycle only 5 times.
Total calories burned: 245

Day 5: Go the Distance

Walk at a brisk pace for 90 minutes. (You can break this up into two 45-minute or three 30-minute walks.)
Total calories burned: 414
Take-it-easier option: Get in 75 minutes of brisk walking today.
Total calories burned: 345

Day 6: The Hills Are Alive Part II

1. Warm up by walking slowly for 5 minutes.
2. Walk up a moderately steep hill or staircase at a moderate pace for 4 minutes. Walk down at an easy pace for 21?2 minutes. Repeat 8 times.
3. Cool down with an easy 5-minute walk.
Total calories burned: 465
Take-it-easier option: Do the regular workout from Day 3 (repeating your cycle 10 times).
Total calories burned: 290