Mission: FUN (beginner)

For this initial session, you will learn to calculate your speed according to your physical capabilities.
To do this, read the section on taking your pulse again if you need to.
You will then be able to walk safely at a pace that suits you.

Have a good session!

So, this is the first session and the first question you should be asking yourself:
Am I capable of delivering a particular level of effort?
Has it been a long time since I have engaged in any physical activity?
Have I ever practised a sport?
Do I find it easy to walk up
two flights of stairs?
All these questions will help you adapt your speed and know what level of intensity you need to adopt during the session.

Well done for your first session! Take the time to drink and stretch properly
Recap on how to take your pulse:
Place your hand on your carotid artery below your chin, with your thumb and index finger. Feel
your heartbeat, count how many beats there are in 10 seconds and multiply the figure by six (i.e. 1 minute)
. Then take your pulse again 1 minute later: if your heartbeat has dropped by 60 beats, you recover very quickly, which means that you can
increase the intensity of your effort. If not, maintain your current pace.

During this session, we will teach you the essential techniques used in fitness walking.
Take care to maintain your posture:
-Strike the ground with your heel at the front with your toes pointing upwards and your leg straight.
-Keep your body nice and straight with your eyes looking far ahead of you and breathe regularly through your nose and mouth.
-Keep your arms bent at an angle of about 90°; they create a pendulum effect and help you with your balance.
- As you move forwards, try to walk in a straight line. This will cause the hips to sway naturally from side to side, which will make your walking technique very efficient due to the hip rotations
- Keep your shoulders relaxed and loose

We will remind you about this technique throughout the session.

Have fun!

Before walking, remember to warm up all your muscles and joints to avoid any risk of injury.

A tip for breathing properly and not getting stitches:
Breathe out when walking for two strides and breathe in while walking for the next two strides.
In this way, the quicker you go, the quicker your breathing will be. Follow this
advice and you will not get a stitch!

Today, you will learn how to properly warm up and stretch in order to prepare your body for physical exercise.

Don't panic! We are not going to ask you to do the splits. However, at the end of this session, your legs will feel lighter thanks to the preparation you will have done.

Have a good session!

The warm-up and stretching exercises will prevent stitches, cramping, muscle strains or torn muscles. Warming up correctly is essential. Feel free to start before the beginning of the session.

You have just finished the first week of the programme, you can be proud of yourself!
Here is a word of advice to be even "better". Eat 3 hours beforehand if possible to avoid any digestion issues!
And if you feel really hungry during
your session, preferably eat something sweet and light.

Welcome to this second week of the programme!

During the first session, you will exercise your hip technique more.
Bear in mind that the hips are rarely tested as much as they are in walking.
Tthis will strengthen the muscles of your abs and help you to lose those cuddly love handles around your hips.

Enjoy your walk!

If you have a delicate back, you need to adapt the exercises to suit you. You must always listen to your body to avoid injury.
Remember to warm up properly before the session. muscles and joints.

Congratulations for a great session!
Can you feel you are making progress? During the course of the sessions, you will feel more and more comfortable and your breathing will become smoother.
Drink properly and get a good rest! You deserve it.

This session will allow you to work on your speed.

You know how to walk properly, but now, the aim is to walk more quickly.
To do this, you need to repeat a series of short accelerations.

Have fun!

Remember to warm up properly before the session and stretch at the end of the session.

For this type of exercise, you can walk back and forth to assess your future progress.
This was a very intense session, make sure you drink properly.

Final session of the week!

Today, we will be working on your endurance.
A slightly longer outing than usual but without any particular difficulty involved.

Walk at a slightly faster pace than usual without any change in pace.

Have a good session!

For this session, you can take a small bottle of water with you so that you can regularly take a sip. You can also eat some dried fruit or a cereal bar to give your body a boost of energy if you start to feel tired.
Don't forget that you should always warm up and stretch.

Well done! You've just finished the 2nd week of the programme! Do you feel better during your sessons? Make sure that you rest properly and keep hydrated.
Tip: A cold shower will speed up your venous return hence the oxygenation of your body and your recovery!

Walking is great fun! So, you need to ensure that the foot rolls through completely!

To do this, phase 1: place the heel of your foot on the ground with your toes pointing upwards and gently roll through the foot.
Phase 2: Your foot lands flat along a central axis (nice and straight)
Phase 3: roll the foot right through to the tip of your big toe as you move your walking motion forwards.

You then walk for 50 minutes, making sure that you go through the 3 phases of the foot motion.

Enjoy the session!

Tip: in this exercise, make sure you keep your upper body nice and straight along the axis without bobbing up and down. Your eyes should not sense any swaying motion as it is only your feet that are working.

Well done for the session! It was a little longer than usual but nothing could be better for improving your endurance.
Having "a good foot" is essential in athletics, but particularly in walking because nothing could be better for the rehabilitation of a sprain!

Today, you will work on your power with the help of a slope. You will therefore need some hilly terrain, or a bridge.

After a good warm-up, you will complete 10 ascents covering about 100m while maintaining the same speed. As you descend, relax the arms and take a breather.

Then, recover for 20 minutes by walking at an "almost" natural pace.

The ideal situation for this session is to be walking on a gradient of about 3 to 4%. If you do not have such a gradient, use the uphill section of a bridge.

Well done! This session was a little more difficult. I hope that you enjoyed it. It is the level of difficulty that helps you to progress. Stay motivated and your efforts will be rewarded!

Today's session is a long one.

You will alternate between endurance walking and accelerations.
Between each series, you will be able to recover actively.

Adapt your speed to your physical condition and your heart rate.

The key is to enjoy yourself at all times when walking!

Tip: Take your pulse just after an acceleration to find out your level of intensity:
Between 130 and 160 beats per minute, you're walking is very dynamic, that's great!
Less than 120, you are a little too relaxed!
More than 160 and you should be careful because you are in the red zone, slow down a little!

This session was very intense. You deserve a good rest!
You have finished the 3rd week of the programme!
You can be proud of yourself, that's great!

The arms, which are severely tested, are used for balance and creating the forward impetus of the walker's stride.
Today, you will focus mainly on your arms with a variety of exercises.
First of all, you will walk on a flat surface for about 100m doing a series of circuits.

Place one hand on one thigh without moving it and move forwards while rotating the other arm, which is kept straight. Then change hand.

Finish with 30 minutes at a moderate pace

Tip: to be coordinated, complete one arm rotation with each stride. You can count out loud each time your right heel strikes the ground. Your stationary hand must be in the same place whenever you count, otherwise the motion will not be coordinated!

Congratulations for a great session! The rotation exercises will help you to develop your synchronisation.
Take the time to drink and eat a little if you feel hungry.

Today, you will work on the positioning of your feet. This is a technique that will help you improve your walking and efficiency.
You start with a 20-minute warm-up at a moderate pace, after which you will perform circuits.

You will continue to walk for 33 minutes using the foot alignment technique. Walk safely positioned on a white line as if you are walking along a beam.

Have a good session!

For this exercise, remember to warm up your hip area that will be tested more than usual

Well done! It was a very good session for improving your walking technique. You can do several stretches for 20 seconds per muscle: hamstrings, buttocks, back, arms.

This is already the final session of the program!

In order to evaluate your progress, compare how you feel during this session with how you felt during the first session of the programme.
Can you go quicker? Can you walk for longer? Are you able to walk using the fitness walking techniques?
If yes, you have fulfilled the objectives of the programme!

During the session, you will start with a good 10-minute warm-up followed by a 25-minute walk involving different exercises.

First of all, you will do some ascents (you will therefore need a slope or a bridge). Follow this up with several 30-second accelerations with a recovery time between each one.
Always remember to use the proper technique.

Finish by taking your pulse and comparing it with that of the first session.

Have a good session!

Take your pulse over 10 seconds.
If your pulse is less than 120 beats per minute, you can go a little quicker.
If you are between 120 and 150, you are exercising your body correctly and you
can carry on like that.
If your pulse is more than 150/160 beats per minute, slow down

Well done! You have just finished the programme! You have made good progress, you can be proud of yourself!
You deserve a rest!
If you want to continue, you can now step up a level!
See you soon