I hope you caught my article on walking that was in last month’s issue of Letters. I also hope that you took my advice and started your walking regimen, especially now that spring is officially here.

In the last issue, I went over five of walking guru Wendy Bumgardner’s ten walking mistakes to avoid. So lets get down to the nitty gritty and start with number six. We are all probably guilty of this—walking with your head down. You wind up staring at your feet. Do you know where you are going, and what you may be missing? You should look up and watch out for traffic, holes, and debris, you can’t see this stuff if you’re hanging your head down. Now remember this: looking up makes for good posture. Looking up also allows you to breathe well. Avoid looking down while walking and you will prevent problems with your neck, shoulders, and your back.

Number seven in the top ten happens to be leaning. Bet’cha we all are guilty of this, too. When we don’t concentrate on our walk, we really do tend to lean into it. Do you realize you could be stressing out your lower back? Not good! Leaning contributes to bad technique. What you should be doing is this; straighten up—standing with shoulders relaxed. Keep your chin up and think about walking tall. Sucking in your gut works, too.

How many times have you seen people walking at the gym, the beach, or outside wearing the wrong clothing? Either at night when you can barely see someone dressed in very dark colors and not wearing anything reflective, to the daytime where you see a walker wearing too little or too much under specific weather conditions. Always remember to dress accordingly.

A really important piece of clothing happens to be a hat. One with a visor is highly recommended. How about proper walking shoes to go with that outfit? Any reflective material on them? Did you dress in layers for cold weather? It is suggested that when you dress in layers, the inner layer should be a fabric like CoolMax that will wick sweat away. Don’t use cotton because it holds sweat in next to the skin. The next layer should be insulating, one that is easily removed as needed. The third (outer) layer should be either a windbreaker or jacket that is preferably waterproof. When walking in a warmer climate, wear that wick-away shirt, a hat, and by all means wear a sunscreen on your head, face, and body. You’d be surprised how burned you can get without protection.

Mistake number eight is…drum roll please…not drinking enough. Holy cow, this should be a no-brainer! But surprise, surprise, many people wind up dehydrated because they’re unprepared—because they don’t drink enough water before, during, and after their walking routine. You should know what to drink and what to avoid that would create problems for your walking routine. It is very important to drink, or try to, a glass of water (8 oz) every hour or so throughout the day to stay hydrated. It is suggested that you drink a glass of water ten minutes before you begin your walk. It is also suggested that for every 20 minutes that you walk you should in get a cup of water. After you finish, they suggest that you drink a glass or two.

If you happen to do a two hour walk, then Gatorade or powerade is a good source of electrolyte-replacement. And on long distance walks, rather than drinking regular plain water, it is suggested that a sports drink with salt would be beneficial. You should avoid caffeinated drinks, they tend to draw fluid out of the body and you will have to make several pit-stops along the way, I’m sure. And, by all means, no alcohol.

And last, but not least, is the final mistake that people make when they start a walking regimen. Ladies and gents, I give you number ten—overtraining. Many of us really get caught up in the excitement of walking for health and for sport. And many of us get a little overzealous when we undertake any kind of exercise routine. But it is easy to fall into the trap of overtraining. You’ve built up your walking routine for one day to seven days. You are starting to feel really irritable, cranky, tired, coupled with some new aches and pains. You’ve lost your enthusiasm because you are just plain overdoing it. You need time to re-evaluate your walking. You need to recuperate—take a day, or even a couple of days off. Do you find yourself obsessed with missing a session? Uh oh, back off. Admit that you are overtraining and do something to correct the situation. If need be, find another activity to do—like weight training or swimming or just plain relax. You’ll like it.

Now, I can start saying, see you at the beach!