Power walking, also known as fitness walking, is an effective form of cardiovascular exercise that burns calories while strengthening the muscles in your legs, glutes and core. Moving at the pace of 4 to 5 mph, fitness walkers can complete a workout comparable to running without the harsh impact on the joints.

The arches of the feet are formed by bones, ligaments and tendons. Arch height establishes foot type and pronation, or the inward rolling of the foot while walking. Women with low arches do not have a characteristic arch and tend to overpronate, which causes injuries.

Though people spend hours doing crunches, planks and curls to strengthen their abs, walking can also contribute to a taut tummy. Proper posture calls for your abdominals to be engaged while your core initiates the movement of your legs.

The number of calories you’ll burn speed walking depends on your current body weight and your speed. If you speed walk for two hours, however, you’ll likely expend a significant number of calories, and if you do so on a regular basis you may start to lose weight.

Hurting hips are a sign that you need to take several days off of your treadmill walking routine. The pain may be caused by an inflamed bursa, an irritated tendon, a strained muscle or a strained ligament. If you continue with your exercise program, you will cause damage to surrounding tissues.

Brisk walking is not strolling or even walking at a moderate pace. It's walking faster than both but not as fast as a full run. There are many benefits to brisk walking. According to the February 2013 issue of the American Heart Association journal "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology,"

Walking is a simple way to burn fat, including in your thighs, and does not require any exercise equipment. Add a slight incline to the treadmill or walk a hilly path to help burn more calories. Walking can be done virtually anywhere, at any time, at a comfortable pace.

The key to weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in. Implementing an exercise program in which you walk 2 miles a day can help you lose weight by burning more calories than is usual for you. With proper gear and a good plan, you can increase your metabolism and reduce body fat.

The many benefits of walking include improved heart and lung function, along with an increased ability to burn excess weight and body fat. When compared to running, walking on a flat terrain is a lower intensity activity. Unlike running, walking places a lower level of strain on your lower body joints.

Working out with hand weights while walking may offer more risks than benefits. While adding hand weights to aerobic activities can increase energy expenditure, it can also cause injuries. There are alternatives to hand weights that provide a safer resistance training element to your walking routine.

Walking makes you feel great. It boosts your energy, lifts your mood and revs up your metabolism. However, trekking up hills may leave you ready to park your walking shoes once knee problems set in. The pain that results from walking uphill is usually caused by one of two common knee syndromes.

Walking is the perfect exercise for many of us: gentle, low-impact and accessible. Walking can help lower bad cholesterol and raise the good kind, as well as manage weight, mood, type 2 diabetes and blood pressure.