Walkers have a dilemma.

Every other sport has a methodology for training. Some employ the "periodization" whereby the training regime is altered in intensity depending on how close the trainer is to the season. For example, a football player may train with heavy weights during the "off-season" and then go on an entirely different program during the months he actually plays.

But there is no "season" for walking. Most people don't do it competitively. Rather, it's the easiest, most accessible of fitness activities, requiring no equipment (other than a good pair of shoes) and no special instruction. And that's both the good news and the potential problem.

See, there's a big difference between fitness walking and mere strolling. I've taken clients on walks only to have them fall into the "window shopping" mode before long, simply because the activity is so familiar that it's easy to forget to concentrate on why you are doing it in the first place.

So if you're going to use walking or power walking as a way of maintaining fitness levels, there's a few things you should keep in mind to make sure you get the maximum benefit from your sport.

First, find a way to introduce some variety and spice into your walking program. Once adaptation to a certain level of exercise occurs, the body is no longer working very hard to accomplish what once may have taken a lot of effort. Any seasoned exerciser has had some version of this experience: In the beginning, you couldn't do a block without being winded, now a brisk three miler feels like nothing. Or, if you lift weights, at one point five pound dumbbells may have felt immovable- now you're doing them for warm-ups.