[Walk] Get Motivated: 15-Minute Calorie Burning Walk | 52

Want to get about 1,400 steps in? Yeah, baby. Throw your low motivation out the window with this low-impact 15-minute walking workout that will “pump… you up.”

It can be hard to get off the couch, but lace up anyway. Motivation doesn’t just show up… you have to make it. And today, we’re going to make it after all (if you’re old enough for that reference, you’re my kind of people).

You can do this walk inside at home (treadmill, walking pad, marching in place) or outside. 

There’s a bell at the halfway point so you know when to turn around, plus background walking music and a couple of pushes to nudge that calorie after-burn.

Yes, you can do something even on a low-motivation day. This short indoor/outdoor walking workout is great for burning a few extra calories, boosting your mood, and proving to yourself you didn’t quit on the whole day.

I also wander off into stories about hauling ankle weights through an airport in the 80s (terrible idea), channeling Pretty Woman “Big Mistake” energy, almost missing a flight while in the restroom, and why bribing myself is my favorite motivation hack.

Tap Follow so your next walk is already waiting for you when you need it.

P.S. Check out yourwalkingpodcast.com to grab my super duper free guides to make walking and healthy habits easier in real life. 

Want a different way to start fresh? Listen to episode 50, and grab my totally FREE Kickstart Guide with printable sheets at https://yourwalkingpodcast.com

Transcript

0:18

Got your shoes on. Yay. Let's start walking at an easy warmup pace. You can do this walk inside or outside, or you don't even have to walk to listen to it. You can listen while you're driving or folding laundry. Or if you want to save it when you have time for a walk, just hit save. So here's the truth about motivation. It doesn't just appear. It's flaky. It's finicky and if we just wait for it, we'll be on the couch for quite a while. So today we're not going to wait for the motivation. We're going to use this walk to create motivation and also to figure out how to create motivation for the future. We're going to use three little brain hacks that will get you moving when you absolutely do not feel like it, which of course, for me is pretty often. And then I have a secret bonus tip at the end. And if you're walking indoors, you can walk on a treadmill or a walking pad or march in place. And if you're walking outdoors, there'll be a bell at the halfway point in case you need a notification, so you can turn around. Shake out your hands, drop your shoulders away from your ears, soften your jaw, Take a deep breath in through your nose, really fill up those lungs all the way. And exhale through your mouth, get all that air out. You can pick it up just a little bit more comfortable, rhythmic. And we're going to hit hack number one, which is petty fuel - spite. And it can be kind of immature, but it really does work. So think of someone who annoyed you this week, or if you gave yourself any negative self-talk, like you talk smack about yourself. I'm too tired, I'm too old. What's the point? We're going to channel the energy from the Pretty Woman movie. You know, when Julia Roberts is in the store and she's not all glammed and spiffed up, and they don't feel like she belongs there. And then she tells 'em, big mistake. Huge. That's the you underestimated me vibe. You can channel that to get yourself motivated. Or if you're more into music, rock music like me, alt rock, Offspring, You're Going to Go Far Kid. See the lightning in your eyes. See them running for their lives. Everybody suddenly realizes that you mean business. You can borrow that oh no, well watch me feeling. And that helps generate motivation. Walk like you're done explaining yourself. Your chin's up chest is open. A little extra power in your step. See them running for their lives, because I like alt rock. What can I say? If revenge is not your style, you can use the future you. So picture yourself a few months from now, glad you didn't skip this walk today. And you can walk as her today, as him today, as that future person who would never skip a walk. Holding onto your pace. And when you try to talk yourself out of it, borrow the motivation from that future you. Would they skip their walk? No, that person knows that in order to get motivation, you need to make motivation. We're not staying in this mode all day. We're just borrowing the oh yeah. Or watch me to get past the hardest thing, which is starting. Stay with that pace. It's strong and steady. It's the, yeah, watch me pace. And then for a second hack, we're actually going to do two little pushes. You don't have to do them if you don't want to. If you just want to stay with your pace, that's totally fine. The second hack is artificial urgency. You don't need motivation to move through an airport. You just need that departure time. So what you're doing is you're tricking your brain to switch from exercise mode to survival mode. You're tricking yourself as, oh, I have a deadline. I have somewhere to be, I have to go fast. And that helps you get motivated. Okay, first short, push. Late for the gate. Just 60 seconds. Shorter. Quicker steps. Let those arms help. You're going to go through security and you hear them calling final boarding for your flight. You're not sprinting, but you're definitely moving. Gotta get to that gate, because where are we going? Maui? Thailand? Wherever we're going. Strong and steady. And as you move towards the gate, you'll feel that adrenaline and you're going to feel that motivation come because you gotta get there. Breathe. Steady, strong. Stay with me. We've got 20 seconds. Arms are helping you along. Your breathing is steady. Almost there and slow it down. See, that was a sudden surprise. And, and now you're awake. Ease it back to your strong walk. Let your breathing catch up. Shake your hands out. Roll your shoulders. Let your face relax. So in 2014, the kids and I were traveling and I hadn't traveled in years. And back in my day, back in my day, we could get to the gate 15 minutes beforehand. So I told the kids, yeah, now that we're right here by the gate, we don't have to worry. While we're in the bathroom we hear all of our names being called and like I look up, I'm like, oh no. So I'm like trying to pull up my pants, grab my bag and my daughter and I go running out and my son goes running out from his and we sprint to the gate because apparently you really have to be the gate earlier these days. And not like my old days when I could just slide on in and the plane takes off. Now here's a quick brain trick. Do you ever notice how a minute staring at the microwave feels endless, but a minute scrolling your phone goes really fast. We're going to do the scroll version here. We're going to focus on the music. Focus on your feet, and let the minute take care of itself. Get ready for one more push if you want. 60 seconds. Here we go. Bring that pace back up again. This time you're going to picture yourself landed at a gate A, and your connection is at Gate Z. You're striding with purpose, weaving around the slow walkers, excuse me, coming on through, pushing through. Your aim is towards that gate. You're walking strong, very purposeful. Your shoulders are down. Got your backpack on, maybe you're pulling your little suitcase. Your feet are hitting the beat. Stay strong. Gotta get to Gate Z, Zed, Zelda, zebra. Feel that push now. We got 15 more seconds. And if you don't want to push, you don't have to. We're almost there. Feel that push now. You got it. Feel that push and slow it down. Drop it back to your steady walk. Strong steps. Relaxed shoulders. Do a little shimmy if you want, because you're going to release your hips that way. when I was about 14, I was going from Los Angeles back to Oslo where I lived, and I was into fitness. And for some reason I thought it would be brilliant to pack kind of heavy ankle and wrist weights in my carry-on. And that was before, of course, they weighed our carry-ons. And I remember that I landed at one gate. The other gate was so, so far away and it was a really big airport. And I'm trying to get all the way back to the other side and I'm like sprinting along as fast as I can with my backpack just full of those ankle and wrist weights. And then I get over to my gate and I realize I left this poster that was important to me, back at the other gate. I had to haul butt back over all the way to the other side of the airport, and then back over to the other side again. So. Yeah, I'm kind of used to this airport walk. And as you're walking along, remember, action comes first and motivation comes later. And that's kind of sucky because we all want motivation to just appear, but we actually have to make that motivation. And that's the pattern that we're going to practice right here during this walk today. You can also check out some of my other motivation walks for more. Okay, you're holding onto that little bit comfortable pace. It's a cruising pace. It's about a six out of 10 strong. We're going to hit hack number three and that is the bribe. I know that sounds exciting, right? The bribe. It's also known as temptation bundling. So you want to tie something that you love to the thing that you usually avoid, something that you need to be motivated for, and you're going to give yourself a bribe. Now, when I was first on my weight loss journey, I had an elliptical machine upstairs and I made a deal with myself. There was one exciting show I wanted to watch, and I was only allowed to watch that when I was on the elliptical machine. So I bribed myself. If I really wanted to watch the next episode, I had to get on that elliptical. And you can do the same thing with walking or other exercise. Only listen to your favorite podcast or audio book when you're walking, or you can watch the show that you really love while you're on some kind of exercise machine. The walk or the movement is the only way that you get that treat. No walk, no episode, You have to go on that walk now , and then you just go. You just fake yourself out. Convince yourself that this is what you have to do. The bribing myself is one of my favorites. I don't know why it's like, here, do this in order to get that. Okay. Slow your pace just a little bit. Let it soften. Take a big breath in. Really fill up those lungs. Relax your stomach and exhale with your mouth. Going to roll your shoulders backwards. Big, big, big rolls. My right shoulder is my creaky one. It's going clunk, clunk, clunk. Roll your shoulders forwards. Clunk, clunk, clunk. Shake out your hands. Let your face relax. No resting bitch face. So while we walked today, you might have noticed that motivation didn't just show up and you went out for a walk. You moved first, and then the motivation and that feeling followed. So don't wait for that magic feeling."I've lost that magic feelin'." And that's not how the song goes. You're going to put your shoes on. Tell yourself I've got five minutes, and then try one of today's hacks. Petty fuel, late for the gate, turn on your walking show only, and it's fine if you only have five minutes. Five minutes is so much better than nothing. And then if you do five minutes, you may be inspired to do another five minutes. And maybe you walked today on a day that you didn't even want to. Yay. And that's awesome. And thank you for walking with me. Slow it down a little bit more now. Okay, here's my secret bonus tip time, because you did those faster bursts today, your body has to work a little bit harder afterwards to recover, and that means that we're going to burn a little extra energy even after you're done walking. So whether you're sitting on the couch or driving later, you can tell yourself, "Self, I've got a little free burn going off from that walk. Right? And that gives you some motivation. Keep your breathing going. If you want to hit follow, so your next walk is waiting for you. That way you know when I have a new walk out. Check for any tense spots in your body. Don't forget to stretch afterwards, whether it's stretching your calves, the front of your thighs, your hips. Make sure you try to walk whenever you can. Even if it's five minutes, 10 minutes. And you'll feel so much better afterwards. Nice and slow cooling it down. And I'll see you next time.