From Health magazine
Adding bounding, jumping, and skipping moves (called plyometrics) to your walk is a fun way to spike the intensity. Youll burn up to twice as many calories—and significantly more belly fat—per minute than you would just walking at a moderate pace. “These moves vary the walking pattern your body has grown accustomed to, so you engage different muscle fibers,” says Joy Prouty, veteran Florida-based trainer and American College of Sports Medicine–certified health-fitness director. “And that helps shape and define your body.”
It worked for Claire Jefferson-Glipa, 31, of Riverside, Calif.
Adding one-minute bursts of plyometrics to the Stroller Strides classes she leads each week—along with making healthy changes in her eating habits—helped Jefferson-Glipa drop 36 pounds in just nine months. “Its so exciting that my clothes are looser,” she says.
Make it work for you
Try this workout from Prouty, gradually adding more plyometrics as your fitness level improves. It can be done either outside or on the treadmill (just be sure to step off the machine to do the plyometrics moves).
1. Walk 15 minutes, building to a moderate pace.
2. Do 30 High-Knee Steps forward (alternating legs); skip for 30 seconds, then walk at a moderate pace for 1 minute.
3. Do 15 Traveling Lateral Squats (turn and move sideways as you squat) in slow motion, followed by 5 Squat Jumps (squat slightly, then swing arms up as you jump). Knee problems? Rise up on your toes instead of jumping.
4. Walk at a moderate pace for 10 minutes.
5. Repeat step 2.
6. Walk for 5 minutes at a moderate pace, then 5 minutes at a slow pace to cool down.
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