I recently had surgery and was told my return to proper exercise must be gradual: no heavy lifting until four weeks post-surgery, and low-impact with a slow build. I can tell you now those words didn't land well with me, as someone who trains four to five times a week and loves nothing more than throwing heavy weights around.
That said, walking workouts tick so many boxes for me: they're low-impact, free and help boost mindfulness. Walking also strengthens your ligaments, bones and muscles, and can lower your risk of chronic conditions like stroke, high blood pressure and blood sugar issues by boosting cardiovascular fitness.
With an incline and speed, you're not just increasing resistance and intensity, but also overall energy expenditure. In fact, studies show pace and/or intensity matters more than distance alone for improving several health markers.
Below, I share a walking workout I've been using before and after surgery to help me feel like I'm still benefiting physiologically and psychologically during recovery. As a reminder, if you’re returning to exercise following surgery or illness, or if you’re dealing with a specific injury, it’s always best to seek personalized advice from a qualified professional before following anyone else's routine.
What is the workout?
- Hit maximum incline on your treadmill (18%)
- Hit a fast walking speed (for me, that was 4.5km/h)
- Maintain for 20-30 minutes or more if you prefer
- You can add interval training by increasing and decreasing your speed and inclines.
Here's why I love it
First of all, this is as simple as it gets in terms of programming. Hit the maximum incline on your treadmill (I use a Technogym Run, which offers 18%), then find a challenging walking pace you can maintain for however long you choose to exercise. I always start at 3.5km/h, then increase and maintain at 4.5. For me and my short legs, that allows me to maintain a quick speed without jogging.
That's not to say every walk must be fast, but fast walks will increase your heart rate and challenge your body; alternating paces burns calories, boosts your metabolism and gets your system working a little harder as it adapts to pace changes.
In terms of intensity, I like to rate it out of 10 using RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion). For this workout, I like to work at a 6-7/10 for 30 minutes. The incline should be challenging, making your legs and core work hard to propel you up the hill.
Changing pace, incline and intensity is a great way to train your energy systems and improve resting metabolism. That said, you'll need to focus on other forms of exercise (namely, resistance training), overall daily movement levels (known as NEAT) and a balanced diet to manage fat loss, if that's your goal.
And remember, not every walk needs to be a workout, but it can certainly keep things more interesting and help you focus on what your body is doing, which is a form of mindfulness.
Incline walks activate more of your posterior chain, which includes muscles along the back of your body, including the stabilizer muscles that hug your spine, your glutes, hips, hamstrings and calves. You'll also work your quads and improve ankle mobility.
Stay light on your feet and slightly hinge forward at your hips. Engage your core and keep your torso upright; not only will this help you breathe better, but it'll stop you from dumping into your lower back and causing back pain.
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Not that the treadmill calorie burn numbers are very accurate, but I did rack up a fairly high number of calories burned after each walk. I also worked up a good sweat, raised my heart rate and felt out of breath once I'd finished.
I felt like I had activated most of my major muscle groups and worked my legs and glutes hard; so much so that I had a little next-day burn. I also found this technique great for switching off, keeping my step count high and adding some low-impact movement into my day.
I had actually started these workouts before surgery as a way to start de-loading, but it felt pretty challenging post-surgery nonetheless.
I'm not known as a particularly calm or patient person, and I use exercise as a release valve for my physical body and my brain; being able to use this workout to move my body, relieve tension and boost energy expenditure kept me pretty sane, so I highly recommend it if this feels familiar to you.
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