Regaining the Body Beautiful: MapMyWalk

If you’re like me, one of the changes made when moving into the ‘Golden Age’ was saying goodbye to a regime of excessive exercise like gym work or running long distances. I have found over time I paid a price for that decline in activity. A cursory glance in the full length mirror confirmed I was starting to grow outwards!

The culprits include not only the reducing levels of exercise but also our slowing metabolic rate.

As we age our body becomes super-efficient surviving on less food although our deteriorating taste buds insist we eat more to get the same level of satisfaction. Time to do something about it and look for an ally to help us recover that “body beautiful”.

Fitness gurus say the best way to burn up that fat is aerobic exercise. Do we want to revisit a regime of excessive exercise again? No way. I chose an easier way – walking. I also chose a companion on my smartphone to keep me company and to keep me honest – MapMyWalk.

If you have a smartphone, go to the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play Store (Android) and key in ‘MapMyWalk’. It’s free to download although you will get the odd ad appearing as well as encouragement to upgrade – ignore that.

When you open the app you will be asked to set up an account. Don’t be overawed, you will be exposed to many options within the application. Most are not necessary, so ignore the detail and just stick to the basics. As you get to use the app, you can then become adventurous and explore those extra options.

When you’re ready to go just hit the “Start Workout” button. The standard settings will take care of the rest. As you pass each kilometre the app will tell you how far you have travelled, your average pace, the time you have been walking and the split time for your last kilometre. The aim is to walk at a pace where you are at 60 – 70% of your maximum heart rate and maintain that for 40 minutes at least. A guide is to walk at a speed where you are exerting yourself but can still carry on a conversation.

When you have completed the ‘workout’ just call up the app (it will have been running in the background) and pause, then ‘slide to finish’ and ‘save workout’. Not only will this app update your account, it will save the list of songs you have been listening to and details of the route you have been walking. You can even dive in further to see the splits for each kilometre. That history can be recalled.

The feedback you will get from this app and the resulting body change will motivate you to go further. It’s working for me and I’m sure it will for you also. You are now making progress on reclaiming that “body beautiful”.
Watch this space for commentary on the next step.

Finally a disclaimer: It is advisable to consult with your Doctor before undertaking any new exercise regime. This is especially true if you have any health issues.

Alex Sharp, Age Hacker