The Joy of Power Walking

This article has a lot to do with the late, great body builder and actor Steve Reeves. You may be wondering what the joy of power walking has to do with Steve Reeves. Many of us remember Steve Reeves portraying the titular character Hercules in the late 1950's and early 1960's in a dozen or so movies featuring the character of the same name. And certainly prior to that, Steve Reeves made a name for himself during the golden age of body building as one of the sports rising stars.

But in his later years, Steve had to curtail his time spent in the gym pumping iron. Over the years, all those reps and all that weight wore out Steve's shoulders and joints. But that didn't stop Steve Reeves from keeping fit. He modified his routines and segued from the gym to the open rode where he logged countless miles doing power walking.

Now there is a huge difference between walking and power walking. Regular 'ol walking may get you from Point A-to-Point B, but power walking is walking with a purpose. Power walking is walking with a sense of urgency. It's a "get-me-to-the-train-station-on-time" kind of walking. The late Steve Reeves took power walking to the extreme because he incorporated dumb bells into the mix. Reeves discovered that long, quick strides coupled with dumb bell curls performed to the rhythm of your walk just blasted every part of your body from your calves to your thighs to your gluts and obviously your arms.

Steve Reeves was really on to something with his power walking routine and once I discovered it I knew I was putting myself in the fast lane (no pun intended)!

The joy of power walking is just that and I love power walking while I am doing it. I love it a lot less the next morning when I roll out of bed because I am so sore, but it's a good kind of sore so I don't really mind!

How far is too far?

I need to stress that the most important element of power walking is creating a sense of urgency when you walk. If you don't do this you'll find yourself walking in a much more relaxed state and as a result you will benefit a lot less. So, I put myself on the track and give my self 10 minutes to do as many laps as possible. Or I try to do a mile for time. Sometimes I'll even have my wife drop me off on the outskirts of town (about 2 miles) and I need to get back home as quickly as I can. Whatever works for you is fine for you! I just want to reiterate that if I am really digging in, really forcing my steps then I will really give my legs, gluts and arms a great workout.

Dumb bell logic

The other important factor is performing alternate dumb bell curls in conjunction with your walking. You need to be curling in time with your walking. No need to use heavy weight. Two pound dumb bells are more than enough and you want to perform your curls with your palms pointing out (as opposed to palms facing in). I can't even begin to calculate how many repetitions you will do over the course of a mile or two but I can tell you will give your arms one heck of a workout!

So there you have it: the joy of power walking (with dumb bells). A great addition to your gym workouts and especially effective when you want to take a break from the gym and hit the open road.

And let me add: Steve Reeves may no longer be with us, but he left more of a legacy then he probably realized!