smart watches

Maybe you've made up your mind to stay fit this year, and you might even have bought a new BP doctor watch to focus on your goals. However, if your plan is to just try to walk every day, you may start to find yourself bored by now.

The good news: you've done the hard work of forming a habit. The most important thing you can do to get into the habit of exercising is to organize your day and make exercise a priority. You may need to get up 15 minutes or half an hour earlier so you can walk in before work, or at other times of the day, but you have to stick to it.

Raymond challenges you to take your walking to the next level. "One of the coolest things about the body is that it can respond to healthy stress, and it responds by getting stronger," says Raymond. “It sounds scary at first, but if you challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone, you’ll quickly find yourself stronger and healthier. Keep yourself motivated and excited by walking and give yourself an extra Motivated, Raymond encourages his clients to stay consistent and keep improving by trying the following.

1. Try the "10 vs 10 Challenge"
10,000 steps a day for 10 consecutive days. Raymond admits that 10,000 steps can be intimidating, but committing to this level of exercise can also start a more serious fitness endeavor. If 10,000 steps seems too difficult, try "8 on 8" -- 8,000 steps a day for 8 days in a row.

2. Do a "strength and relaxation" exercise.
Find a hill near you first (if the weather is bad outside, the stairs will still work in a pinch). Walk for at least five minutes to warm up, then rush up the hill as fast as you can. Then, walk back slowly. Walk at your normal pace for a minute (think of this as your rebreather), then sprint up and down the hill repeatedly. Keep walking for 15 minutes, then walk easily for 10 minutes to cool down.

3. Try to exercise "up and down"
Pick a landmark that is about a 15-minute walk from your starting point, such as a corner store or the end of the road. Walk to your destination, notice how long it takes to get there, and go home faster. "Our goal is to come out easily and come back strong," Raymond said. "You should try to get it back faster than you got out."

4. Improve your speed with "Fartlake" exercises
"Fartlake" means "speed game" in Swedish, and fartlek training is just a short-term acceleration training in a long training cycle. When walking, choose a milestone, such as the next tree or a traffic light, and accelerate to 15, 30 seconds. Then, continue walking slowly until you are ready to walk again. Novices should try walking for 5 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of practice and 10 minutes of warm-up.