CHECK YOUR SPEED
Many walkers underestimate how fast they can walk, but learning how to push your pace can help you maximize calorie burn and muscle toning. For most of your workout, you should walk fast enough that you are on the verge of panting for breath. If you are able to talk to a friend in short bursts as you walk, but not easily carry on a conversation, you’re striding with the right intensity.

Try it: Consider the first and last 10 percent of your walk a warm-up and cool-down. Stride at an easy pace. In the middle of your workout, push your intensity so you are breathing heavily but not huffing and puffing. If it’s too hard to maintain that intensity, that’s OK. Try alternating a minute of fast-paced walking with several minutes of slow recovery walking. Give yourself credit for whatever you can do today and remember that, with practice, you will get stronger.
Tackle Some Hills
Whether you stride up mini-mountains outside or use the manual hill program on a treadmill, hills are your fitness friend. Think of how you have to push the gas pedal a little harder to power your car up an incline: In the same way, your body uses more energy to climb a hill. In fact, each extra degree of incline increases your calorie burn by about 10 percent.

Try it: In a 30-minute power walk, aim for about half of your workout to be uphill walking.
Change Things Up
If you stick to the same path at the same pace every time you set out for a walk, you are in good company. Many of us get into a comfortable fitness routine and are reluctant to change anything. But research shows that our bodies adapt to workouts in four to six weeks, finding them less challenging with time. In order to maximize calorie burn (and prevent boredom), it’s important to task your body with tackling new paths, hills and turns in the road.

Try it: You can mix up your workout—and simultaneously improve your agility and speed during your walks—with these strategies:

• If you are on a track or another very smooth surface, try striding backwards for a minute. Or walk sideways for a bit; just remember to lead with one leg, then the other, before returning to forward walking.
• Break into a quick jog after the walking warm-up, and try to run-walk for a minute or so, two to three times during every walking workout.
• Walk your usual path, but in the opposite direction. It’s amazing how different the hills will feel and the scenery will look with this small change.

TUNE INTO YOUR SENSES
Turn your attention to the scents, sights and sounds around you on a hike or outdoor walk. Notice the foliage, the birds chirping or perhaps the scent of flowers in the air. Even if you’re walking indoors, you can observe how your body feels and what’s happening around you. Experts say that you’re likely to walk longer and harder if you are engaged and enjoy yourself.

Try it: Experiment with slowing your breath as you walk. Inhale for four strides, then exhale for four strides to deepen your breath, calm your mind and heighten your senses.