starting out

Some of you doing this challenge already walk and run a lot on a regular basis for those of you who aren't in the habit this is a great place to start.

I have already mentioned that you should get a pedometer that is one of the main things.

If this is the first time you have taken on the task of really walking a lot or you haven't walked a lot in a long time here is a little advice.

Stretch. Your legs mainly. If you aren't used to using your legs this much you could injure your muscles.

Your legs may be sore the first few days, but don't give up. This is definitely worth it.

Remember where you walk. Surface matters. Walking on concrete is different than walking on grass or sand. So if you are just starting out try not to do all your walking on concrete, that makes for some very sore feet. When you are more used to it you can do most if not all of your walking on concrete. Walking on sand is muscle intensive so even if sand is softer you may be more sore if you do a lot of walking on the beach. Its great for toning legs though.

You can walk in tennis shoes, sandals or barefoot whatever is comfortable to you., but wear shoes when you go outside. Tennis shoes will help cushion your feet when walking on a hard surface. Do not get toning sandals. These will more likely blister your feet than tone your legs. If you are running part of your steps make sure you have good shoes. When running the amount of force put on your feet is about equal to seven times your body weight, so make sure you have some cushiony shoes.

IT may take a few days for you to find opportunities for steps, but you will.

This is something you can do at home, outside, inside, away, in the gym or practically anywhere.

I'm not very good about this, but I'm going to put this in here anyways, drink water. That is right drink your 64 ounces of water. I would suggest adding some lemon juice or some lime juice or both.

Wear sunscreen if you're going to be outside for a longtime. I know I kind of sound like an old mom on this one, but nobody wants a bad sunburn.

If you are sick, I mean sick, like a fever vomiting, diarrhea that sort of thing, don't walk. Exercise while you are sick does not help your immune system and does not help the healing process.

Keeping up a walking routine should help your blood pressure, cholesterol, heart, digestive system and might help you lose weight.

If any of you are interested in sort of a walking workout routine, there is a set of workout videos called something like " walk away the pounds" by leslie sansone. They are basically walking, but with a few exercises and a few different steps thrown in. They are kind of interesting to vary things up. I don't have these anymore, but you can get them from Amazon. They are low impact. You won't pull a muscle or hurt yourself you'll just burn a few more calories than you would from normal walking.

If you have the wii fit, use it. I know everyone knows wii fit isn't a very intensive workout, but the step exercise can be very helpful. You can take the wii balance board set it up in front of your tv, set it to thirty minutes, turn off the sound, then switch your tv to regular tv and watch dr oz, oprah, desperate housewives or whatever. You can actually get more steps in on it if you step off from side to side rather than just to the back.

If you happen to have "wii active personal trainer more workouts" there is an excellent step aerobics program on there. It burns some major calories and will count for a lot of steps.

If you take an exercise class make sure you wear your pedometer there.

Getting together in groups to walk will help. Its fun and its fun to talk while walking. So if you live close to someone else who is doing the challenge walk with them sometimes. IF you get a walking buddy and are first starting out with a routine they can help you stay on task. If you have trouble committing to the challenge, I'm not saying anyone is, but you can also make yourself accountable to someone you live nearby to. I expect everyone who has signed up as a follower to the blog to walk their butts off for six weeks. If you want to go even further you can say to someone who lives near you " hey call me tomorrow and ask me if I did my steps or ask me if I'm going to do my steps" You can also call this person and ask them if they did their steps. You could walk together with this person to make sure each of you did your steps.