Interval Walk: Get Started | 10-Minute Walk 1 of 4 | 69

This is a 10-minute podcast to walk to, and the first part in a new 4-part walking series to get you moving and sneak a few more steps into your day.

Today we’re doing walking intervals. Nothing scary. Just short bursts of faster walking with recovery periods to wake up your body and your brain. Plus, these little pushes are great for women over 40. And I am way over 40. Like waaaay.

You can do this guided walking workout with music outside, or at home on a treadmill or walking pad.

If you're not up for those extra pushes today, you can absolutely skip them and just stay with a steady, comfortable pace.

How do you make walking less boring?

You have to give your brain something else to focus on besides the clock. Doing short intervals breaks up the time and turns a quick 10-minute walk into a game. Plus, I share some ridiculous stories to keep you distracted so the time flies by.

What are the benefits of walking intervals for women over 40?

Intervals are a great way to challenge your heart rate and build stamina without putting heavy stress on your joints. By adding short, 30-second bursts of faster walking, you wake up your circulation and boost your energy levels. Because each push is followed by a recovery period, it strengthens your lungs and legs without leaving you completely exhausted. 

Can you get a good workout in just a 10-minute walk?

Yes. Stop thinking you need an hour of free time or nothing at all. A quick 10-minute power walk gets you roughly 1,300 steps and gives you a major energy reset. It is just a short, manageable burst of movement that actually fits into a chaotic day.

What you get during this walking workout?

•  Easy walking intervals with background music and a bell at the halfway point
• A quick burst of energy without doing anything extreme
• About 10 minutes of movement and roughly 1,300 steps (woo hoo!)

And because I have ADHD and drift all over the place, I also...

• Tell you how I accidentally rode my bike onto a busy freeway and discovered I can indeed sprint if motivated by death
• Relive old spin class torture involving the song Cotton-Eyed Joe and how I tracked my fitness by how long my thighs could hold my body up
• Discuss whether Ring of Fire was secretly written about my quads giving up on life
• Encourage you to dance the last few steps home like nobody’s watching

 Lace up those sneakers and let’s get to it.

Tap Follow so the Week 2 walk is waiting for you in your feed.

Share your walk at @yourwalkingpodcast on Instagram, Facebook or Threads.

Transcript

0:04

This is the first walk in a short series to get you moving, just four 10-minute weekly walks. Today we're going to do a few intervals to shake things up. You can do this walk outside or inside on a treadmill or walking pad. You're going to start out at an easy warm-up pace. And since we're doing intervals today, I was going to tell you this story about how I accidentally learned to do intervals on a freeway on my bike. And no, it was not intentional. I was never a good sprinter, but one day I was on a bike ride with a friend of mine. It was a beautiful day. I think it was Father's Day. We were in San Diego, biking along, and then suddenly the road just ends and dumps us onto the busiest freeway in our area. No warning signs, no shoulder. We're just on the freeway, and cars are merging in from the right-hand side. My friend shouted back to me, "I think we're on the freeway," and I'm like, "Yeah, I think so too." I had to channel my best Lance Armstrong and sprint across many lanes trying to get to the other side while trying not to die. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears, and I wasn't actually sure I'd make it because, you know, I'm not a good sprinter. But I pushed my legs harder and harder, inch by inch and lane by lane, and that was the day I learned I can sprint if I'm motivated by death. But today we're going to do intervals on purpose, and hopefully no near-death experiences, just little bursts of effort. And if you don't feel like doing intervals, you don't have to do them. If you're not up for those pushes, just stay with a steady pace. Now we're going to pick up a little bit of speed. It's a moderate walking pace. Let those arms swing naturally. Roll those shoulders backward now. Get that tension out of your shoulders. and then roll them forward. Shake out your hands. Find the rhythm in the walk. Feel how good it feels to move. So longer walks are really good for you, and I love them, and I do them, but sometimes we have to wake things up a little bit, and that's where intervals come in. Intervals are really good for your brain, your lungs, your legs. As you're cruising along and you pick up some pace, your body's like, wait, wait, are we being chased? But these intervals are only about 30 seconds, so we can survive them. They are short pushes, and then they're followed by recovery, and those short pushes are they're followed by recovery, and those short pushes are really good for you, especially if you're over 40. And I am way, They also make walking less boring, because you have a little bit of structure, and boom, suddenly the time flies. Stay with that pace here. It's not hard. We're just waiting for our first interval coming up. Roll through your feet. Keep your breathing going nice and steady and strong. Keep moving to the beat. Okay, we're going to start doing 30 seconds. Push it now. Pick up that pace. It's brisk. Find that beat. And this reminds me of spin class torture. We had one instructor who really loved intervals, and every time he played Cotton-Eyed Joe, we knew that suffering was coming. Five seconds, and back off that pace. Forty-five-second recovery. Take a deep breath in through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. So this instructor loved to do standing sprints on the bike, and every time that song came on, I tried to stand a little bit longer than the last class, and that's how I actually tracked that I was getting fitter. The longer I could stand during that song each class, the fitter I was getting. And I would test how long before my thighs gave up on life. Class after class. Stay with that pace. It's not hard. We're recovering. We're breathing. Okay, we're going to get ready to pick up for our next interval. Five more seconds, and go. Pick up that pace now. Arms are swinging. They're helping you walk faster. Your chest is up. So one time, after multiple rounds, he told us to stand up and sprint again. And my mind said, "Go, Helen, go." And my legs said,"No way." Okay, get ready. Five more seconds. Here. Push at five. And back it off. Going to hands. Relax your shoulders. So I tried everything that day to get my legs to work. I tried bribery. You know,"After class, Helen, we can get some frozen yogurt." And I tried shame. "Look, everybody else is doing it. And then I tried brute force. And my legs would not get me out of the saddle, no matter what I tried. So I was just sitting there, staring at everyone around me. My quads were fried. They were just done. Okay. Get ready one more time. Pick up the pace here. Here we go. Thirty seconds. Brisk pace. Uncomfortable but doable. Stay with it. Despite all that, he was still my favorite instructor. Yes, despite Cotton-Eyed Joe. Despite Ring of Fire, which was apparently a song about my thighs. Five seconds. Push. Here we go. And slow it down now. Another recovery. Relax your jaw. Relax your shoulders. Keep your breathing going steady. So every sprint that I did out of that saddle made me stronger, even if I sometimes felt I was just one Cotton-Eyed Joe away from seeing the light. Class after class, I would try just a little more, stand just a little longer. Get ready now. We got one more set coming up in five more seconds. And go. Pick up that pace now. You got this. Push it. Strong. This is your freeway moment, except hopefully safer. Like Chariots of Fire. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Stay with it. Almost there. Push it with me. Really make that body work. Five more seconds. And just really slow it back down again. Follow the music. Find your groove. You survived. Yay. No Cotton-Eyed Joe. No Devil Went Down to Georgia. These are all songs that make me tremble inside when I hear them because they were so hard. Oh, those were the days. "Those were the days, my friend. I thought they'd never end." But sometimes I was glad that they ended. And sometimes he would be a jerk and play Time of Your Life by Green Day at the end. Like, no. No, it was not the time of my life, dude. A little bit slower now. And this is what intervals really are. They're little moments when your body goes, oh, wait, we're doing something now. You don't have to be the fastest because I'm not. And you don't have to love it because I don't. Just try going a little faster sometimes, a little longer sometimes, and then recover. Follow the rhythm. Slow it down a little bit more. Take another deep breath in through your nose. And exhale through your mouth. Now roll those shoulders back. Big rolls. All the way up. All the way down. My right shoulder does its little thumping that it likes to do. Get a little funky here. Rolling forward. Week one is done. Stretch a little bit when you're done. Drink a little bit of water. Hit Follow so the next walk is waiting for you. I'll see you next time for week two. But you can continue to walk because this is a good song. And if you're approaching your house, just kind of dance up towards it. I dare you. Bye-bye.