Walking for Fitness

A brilliant book at all levels, Walking for Fitness is written by Nina Barough who started the Walk the Walk charity and is a power-walking guru. It covers absolutely everything, with sections on how to get started, basic walking technique, stretches and complimentary exercises, good walking shoes and clothing, cross training, food intake, related injuries, walking with children, walking while pregnant, walking for charities or in competitions and training programmes.

Barough has devised different training programmes for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, for weight loss, and for those with distance goals. I am in training for the Moonwalk marathon this summer (2005), but I started using this book when I was a complete novice and it has held my hand all the way through. I am still referring to it to remind myself of things I have forgotten, for information that is relevant to me now but wasn't when I started, or for the extras I can focus on now that more of my routine has become automatic.

It doesn't matter whether you are 20 or 60, this is an uplifting book that will encourage you into a way of keeping fit that you can rely on for the rest of your life. After all, you can walk anywhere and everywhere. Worth every penny.


Good for walking fitness   May 25, 2004
51 out of 53 found this review helpful

The author, Nina Barough, is the organiser of the Moonwalk, which is a marathon walk held every year in London to raise money for Breast Cancer research.
This book is excellent if you want to use walking to build up your fitness or lose weight through walking. However, it really does mean walking in the park or on roads. The author spends no time at all on any sort of off-road walking, which is what most people would choose to do if they want to walk long distances (and this builds up to walking marathons). She suggests walking shoes rather than boots - again, only suitable for road walking. There are lots of handy tips on nutrition and stretching and some useful training guides for marathons and half-marathons.
I do lots of walking and I did find some of the book helpful but would suggest it is mainly for beginners. If you are doing the Moonwalk, this would be an excellent training guide.


Inspiration for Walking   January 27, 2004
35 out of 38 found this review helpful

A great inspiration! Really easy to read with a good layout, clear diagrams and pictures, and packed with all you need to know about Power-Walking. All aspects are covered from shoes to meditation, training programmes to weight loss. The exercises cover yoga, pilates and general stretching in an easy to follow format. It explains a really accessible way to get fit. I recommend it.