Look Out for that Free Walking Advice

There is an awful lot of free advice out there and the results of that advice are not necessarily free. Here are several pieces of advice you should ignore:

1. Don't drink yourself into "water overload." I did this more than once and while walking and running my stomach was reacting like the ocean. Hypontreamia is the dilution of salts in your body particularly for a half-marathon or marathon walk. The best advice is to let your thirst be your guide and don't drink water whenever it's offered or available. During training periods weigh yourself before and after a long walk - if your weight remains fairly constant you are hydrating properly.

2.. If you're walking over an hour each day, especially in warm or hot weather that induces more sweating, than you should probably consume a sports drink such as Gatorade or Powerade that contain salts and sugars your body will absorb quickly to keep you hydrated. This is especially important after the first 30-minutes of walking exercise.

3. Beginning your walk on an empty stomach is bad advice - you won't burn more calories or fat and lose more weight. It's very simple logic - you can't exercise intensely if your body is out of fuel and running on empty. Not eating can cause low sugar levels in your body and create a medical emergency.

4. If you don't train you'll be in pain. If you decide to enter a charity race or fun walk and haven't properly prepared yourself you may develop blisters, shin splints, extremely sore muscles or pulled muscles, even a stress fracture. It's not worth it so build your distance and time to train your body to withstand longer walks especially in situations like formal walking events.

5.. Staying on the topic of training for an event it's not good advice to cram your training into the last few weeks before a fun or charity walk. Similar to cramming for a test the result is usually not a successful one. Gradually training for improved performance requires gradual increases in distances, faster time to create the proper endurance and stamina.

6.. Wearing weights is unnatural and your body is not equipped for that extra load. Adding weight to your ankles or wrists creates extra stress on joints and muscle including your shins, knees, hips, elbows, shoulders, neck and back. If your goal is to increase endurance and stamina than walk further and faster but build this up over time.

7.. Don't wear your old shoes. Support and cushioning are very important for walking and your shoes are the most important piece of equipment you're using. Old shoes are dead shoes and will lead to shin splints, plantar fasciitis, iliotibial band syndrome, and stress fractures. Once your injured the time it takes to repair yourself in considerable and you lose all previous training and positive results.

8. Park your maps and GPS devices and prevent from falling off a cliff. Keep focused when walking, pay attention to terrain, changes in the road or walkway, read signs pay attention when crossing roads and use your natural, inherent senses. Keep your eyes and ears open - your life may depend on it.

9.. Be careful with news shoes, they need a breaking in period. When using new shoes take several short walks with them before expanding your distance to avoid aches, pains, blisters, even black toenail. Also, don't wear new shoes on distance or endurance walks as this only lead to a stress fracture, muscle tear or other major injury.

10. Ever have people with dogs tell you "they don't bite?" I get this one all the time with many walkers having their pet off the leash. Petting a strangers dog is also a dangerous habit to get into. If the owner tells you it's OK than proceed with caution and at your own risk.

These are ten simple pieces of advice you should avoid or take depending on how your reading this article. Have fun, use the correct equipment, pay attention and don't believe the adage - no pain no gain. Believe me, walking pain free creates better results.