You probably already know that I think walking is an awesome exercise (find out why here). Seriously, it’s the best! Walking should be pretty easy for you to do over the holiday period (you can even make it social!) so I challenge you to complete this 30 day walking challenge. There are two challenges for either the beginner / intermediate, and advanced.
How To Complete The Challenge
For this challenge, you will either need a pedometer (to count your steps), or carry your phone with you wherever you go. The iPhone has a Health app that calculates your steps. If you don’t have an iPhone, download one of the free apps such as Runkeeper or Map My Walk to track your steps.
Every morning, you must start your day with a 30-minute (or longer) walk. It will make you feel more refreshed and will also help you make better food choices throughout the day. It is not difficult to set your alarm 30 minutes earlier to fit this in.
You must then find time throughout the rest of the day to fit in the required amount of steps. This can be by walking around the office every hour, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to work or walking to the train station, going for a walk in your lunch break, etc etc.
Beginner / Intermediate Challenge
| Day | Total Daily Steps |
| 1 | 4000 |
| 2 | 4000 |
| 3 | 4500 |
| 4 | 4500 |
| 5 | 5000 |
| 6 | 5000 |
| 7 | 5000 |
| 8 | 5500 |
| 9 | 5500 |
| 10 | 6000 |
| 11 | 6000 |
| 12 | 6500 |
| 13 | 6500 |
| 14 | 7000 |
| 15 | 7000 |
| 16 | 7000 |
| 17 | 7500 |
| 18 | 7500 |
| 19 | 8000 |
| 20 | 8000 |
| 21 | 8500 |
| 22 | 8500 |
| 23 | 9000 |
| 24 | 9000 |
| 25 | 9000 |
| 26 | 9500 |
| 27 | 9500 |
| 28 | 10000 |
| 29 | 10000 |
| 30 | 10000 |
Advanced Challenge
For the advanced walkers, your challenge is to walk 10,000 steps every single day for 30 days. Are you up for it?!
I would love to hear how your challenge results went! Xx
It’s FREE
Does power walking add muscle??
Can I walk at a normal pace for a longer period of time instead of power walking as long as I get 10,000 steps?
Hi lovely,
Thanks for reaching out! <3
I recommend that you focus more on power walking because it is more effective in burning calories than your normal pace of walking and reaching 10,000 steps a day will give you faster results. Just make sure that you do it on a flat surface. :)
If you need help or tips, you can email us at info@rachaelattard.com
Love,
Len
Hey Rachael,
I’m a petite endomorph and I really want to have slim legs and thigh gap. Is walking in the park, at normal pace covering about 10-12 kms enough to slim down the legs. Since I’m not willing to join gym or own a treadmill, will doing this help me out?
Hey lovely,
Walking at least 10 000 steps per day is a great thing for slimming down! :)
If you mix it with a healthy diet and some resistance workouts you should be on a great path to slim down and tone your legs and whole body overall.
Here is the link to my very detailed blog post on endomorphs that you may find helpful. :)
Love,
Ana
Can you walk too much? Currently I walk between 12,000-15,000 steps a day.
I go on two 25-30 minute “power” walks a day. But I also have to walk the kids to/fro school, take the dog around the block and run errands. Also, my job is active and I walk around a fair amount for that. I tend to walk quickly even when I’m not doing it for fitness- so my exercise tracker/program counts most of my steps as “exercise.”
I try my best to do all my exercise walks on flat ground like you recommend, but there are gradual hills all around where I live.
With this amount of walking and the terrain, am I risking bulking up?
Hi lovely,
You can never walk too much! :) Walking is one of the best workouts for slimming down your legs, so the more you’re able to walk the better.
10 000 steps would be optimal, but feel free to walk even more than that, it won’t bulk you up. Keep up the great work! xx
Love,
Diana
Hi Rachael! I wanted to thank you for all your guidance, help, positive energy and support you are constantly giving to all of us who love and follow your work. A few months ago I incorporated walking into my daily workout routine and it did wonders for my legs. Nothing ever worked for me, but after that I was down two pant sizes in just 5 weeks. And I have only you to thank for that. Last month I moved to a new neighborhood, it’s downtown and the air is so polluted during winter months that I simply can’t do my walks, not even in the morning. I tried a few times but the smog strangled my airways so much I ended up getting sick to my stomach, sitting on the bench grasping for air. The nearest park and track field out of the center are really far away, and joining the gym isn’t an option for me right now. So I wanted to ask if incorporating some form of walking around the house (since the apartment is really spacious) can be a kind of compensation for the days I can’t go out to the track field?
Hi lovely,
I’m so sorry to hear about your struggles. :(
The best solution would be to get a treadmill. In the meantime, you can definitely walk around the house, do high knee runs and dance cardio. This can’t really replace running and walking, but it’s better than not working out at all :). Thank you so much for your amazing support! xx
Love,
Diana
Hi! So, I wanted to know what you mean when you say don’t say don’t use a muscle that much to lose it. How do you exactly don’t use the calf muscle to lose it? Does fast walking for an hour or two build muscle there? If I don’t stretch after my cardio, will it bulk it up? I also am trying to lose weight overall, but I don’t know where to start or how to plan it out. I have always been unsuccessful. I want to do fasted cardio in the morning, and strength training in the night. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can go about that? The thing is, I really want to lose weight by walking and strength training. If possible, can you tailor a workout routine that I can do everyday? Thank you so much :)
Hi Jane, I mean don’t do any exercise that really uses the calf muscle, but it is very difficult to avoid using your calves! Walking will use your calf muscle a little bit but shouldn’t build too much muscle. If you don’t stretch, then no that won’t bulk you up. I think fasted cardio in the morning and strength training at night is a great idea! I can’t tailor you a workout plan sorry, but please have a look at my eBooks if you want a program! Good luck xx
Hey Rachel! You know, I have been doing this challenge starting last week, and I try to aim for 10,000 steps a day, but some days I get 6,000 steps or so forth! I haven’t seen any difference in my calves so far, but I feel like it will take me a long time to get them to slim down. The thing is, I always was worried that my calves were mainly muscular. But when I squish it, I can feel a TON of fat. Which leads me to this question: Can fat be near or within muscle, which may be responsible for why my muscles appear to look bigger? What if my muscles aren’t the culprit, but rather the amount of fat near or within the muscle? Is it possible for fat to be near or within the muscle? If so, can we lose that fat? It’s just that it is actually very hard to determine whether your calves or legs in general is muscular or fat, but I wanted your insight. I am walking everyday, and in one of your posts, you said that short endomorphs are better off walking. The thing is, I want that to be an effective way to lose weight. So, I was wondering how many miles, time, etc. do I need to walk everyday to lose a pound a week? I downloaded my plate app, and it says that I should eat 1734 calories to lose one pound a week. So how many calories should I burn in order to achieve that goal? Oh, and I am going to start resistance training for my upper body only because it needs more muscle definition (aka. getting a flat stomach, skinny back, sculpted upper torso). My lower body has a curvy feature already, so I just want to slim it down much as possible, whether it be to lose fat, or to lose muscle. Love you so much, Rachel!
Hi Jane! Good for you with the walking – you’re doing great! Calves are a difficult one. I have written a blog post on how to slim calves so have a read of that if you haven’t already. Generally, if you tense your calves and can still feel fat, then it is fat. But if they are rock solid, it is muscle. Having fat on your calves will make them appear bigger, but it won’t make the muscle bigger. Muscles only get bigger when you use them. You CAN lose fat from your calves but it is probably the most difficult place on your entire body to lose fat and most exercises use your calves. Running will build muscle in your calves so I would stick to walking like you’re doing. You could also try swimming, but it will use your calves a bit too (not as much as running). I would walk every day if you can. You need to burn around 2200 calories per day, which includes how much your body burns naturally (your basal metabolic rate) + what you burn through your workout. Have a read of this blog post for more explanation on how to calculate your daily calorie intake. I hope that helps! xx