One thing that I have always hated was walking, jogging and running. Step class or aerobics with dancing was always fun, but finding instructors that are good can be a problem. I was recently training for a 40 mile 2 day walk for breast cancer in the Rocky Mountains and unfortunately aerobics and fun exercise was out because you have to work the correct muscles and train the right muscles for walking. So what did I do? I created my own fun version of walking to not only burn calories so I would look great for my walk, but this walking routine is perfect for people prepping for straight and gay weddings, dates, bikinis, or even just so you can get back to wearing your favorite skinny jeans.

I live in Washington DC so for me it was easy to set goals. The goals weren’t always miles or times, instead they were attractions and historical landmarks. What I did was create a photographic scavenger hunt and I had to complete it before I could go home. In DC it was easy to do this, but you could also do it in your own city. Here are a few of the hunts that I did which you could modify so that they work for you.

1. Circles and Squares. I took out a map and looked for each circle and each square park in DC. Without taking the map I had to find at least 3 to 5 circles and 3 to 5 squares. Not only did I have to find them, I had to take a picture and upload them to twitter each time I got to one to prove I was there and leave a comment about which one it was.

2. Historic Landmarks. In DC this would seem easy with all of the monuments and historic hotels and landmarks. What made it trickier was I had to find ones that were constructed within certain decades. In order to do this I would look at corner stones and plaques on buildings as well as tombstones at old cemeteries. I had to come back with 5 photographs of buildings and landmarks from the two or three decades that I picked ahead of time. Not only did I learn a lot about the buildings around me, but this created a fun walk that could be done over and over because each time you would have new decades and new buildings to find.

3. Animal hunting. Ok, I didn’t actually go hunting with a weapon to kill an animal, instead I used my camera and I picked 2 or 3 commonly seen animals in the area. I then had to find this animal in three different places doing three different things. Each area had to be at least a 10 to 20 minute walk away from the other as well. You could choose a specific type of bird and find it bathing in one place, eating in another or sleeping in another. You could also use small animals and find them collecting food, playing or even just staring at you. Then you take a picture of each. Some of the pictures actually ended up turning into ones that I plan on keeping because they were to cute.

The trick to losing weight and making walking fun is to turn it into a game. The three things above are what I did and what I recommend to all of my friends. I don’t think this type of walking is for everyone, but it definitely made my training a lot more fun.

About the Author: Adam is a Blogger from the Washington DC area and writer for many sites, including a leading site for Gay Weddings and for Broadway Reviews. His passion for planning and helping people prepare for events includes getting in shape, clothing, makeup and everything that is key to a perfect performance no matter what the occasion is.

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About the Author: Carleen Pruess Coulter