Whether you are a new to running, a veteran runner or a short or distance runner you are never beyond walking.  Some people feel that walking is only something you do before you graduate to running. But, walking is an exercise ritual that should never be forgotten.

There are many reasons to keep walking as part of your plan.  The most obvious reason being that it adds variety to your schedule.  Variety helps to keep your fitness program interesting and gives you another exercise to do to change up the routine.  The variety also offers different muscle development and a greater range of fitness advantages. 

If you do have a regular routine, walking allows an opportunity for your joints and muscles to rest from the impact of a more intense routine. It gives some of your regularly used muscles a chance to rest, the chance to build additional muscles and uses them at a lower impact.  The impact of the up and down movement of running, or intense weight training is reduced and allows your joints to move with less pressure. 

By walking you also engage different muscles that will only add to your running or strength requirement. As you walk faster your stride lengthens.  This may not necessarily be the most effective stride to use but it triggers muscles in your thighs that may not often be used with regular running.  As these muscles develop from walking they are engaged and assist you during other activities that incorporate leg strength.

You can also use walking to build your speed through intervals.  The value of interval training has been proven over and over.  Interval training offers the variety of intense movements with easy movements i.e. running sprints and walking in between.  In other words, you will only discover the benefits of intervals if you are willing to walk for part of your work out. 

You can add walking to your schedule by determining one day that is just for walking.  You may also add walking as part of interval training, making sure to have a long walk to keep your muscles warm but to rest them before moving on to the next interval.  Or add a great warm up walk and/or cool down walk to your run. 
   
Depending on the intensity you are walking at, you can often develop your cardiovascular stamina just as well as with other forms of exercise.  According to Dr. Ann Gerhardt, a California doctor who was forced to walk for exercise following an injury: "The other plus about walking is that if you do the technique correctly and put as much effort into walking as you would running, you can get the same aerobic benefit. You are moving almost every part of your body."

Walking can also be a benefit to building your cardiovascular stamina because you can often exercise for a longer period of time when your muscles last longer.  You can stay exercising for a longer length of time, training your body to require more oxygen for a longer length of time.  Many distance runners build up their distance by periodically walking throughout their run until their body adjusts.

The benefits of walking in addition to running don’t stop there. In studies of consistent runners and walkers, those walking part of the time were less likely to sustain injuries. Walking carries far fewer painful health risks, such as shin splints, back pain, knee injuries and other joint pains.

Walking is easy to fit into your schedule. You can take a long walk at lunch and you don’t necessarily have to change your clothes, just throw on a good pair of shoes.  You can even try fitting in quick, short walks, several times throughout the day to fit into a crazy schedule. 

Walking can sometimes be easier to convince yourself to do.   Even if you have had a hard day or are feeling fatigued, you can usually convince yourself to find the energy for a walk. 

Walking is a great workout to help clear your mind, relax your body and allow yourself to de-stress.  Walking does not require a lot of concentration or focus and therefore provides a great activity to quiet in a crazy world. 

The best thing about walking is that, most everyone can do it, it burns calories, and it makes you fit and healthy. Walking is the most popular activity in North America.  It is hard to argue with majority.

Tips for effective walking:

• Contact the ground with your heel.
• Roll the foot forward over the center of your foot.
• Push off with your toes. To increase your speed it is more effective to increase the push off from your toes rather than increase your stride.
• Keep your elbows at 90 degrees, hands relaxed.
• Speeding up your arm swing will also increase your speed.
• Keep your shoulders and neck relaxed, trying to minimize movement in your upper torso and head.