With no fancy equipment, expensive gear or monthly membership fees, walking is often overlooked as a great option for getting fit.

But just because it seems simple, doesn’t mean that it is.

By starting slow and building speed and endurance, tackling hills, adding intensity with exercises and perhaps a little extra weight, a simple walk will become a challenging, sweat-infused journey to your fitness goals.

But, before taking that first step, head to your doctor for a checkup.

“Anyone who is starting any workout routine should be checked out first by a family physician,” said Tammy Beam, owner of The Fitness Cellar in Springfield, where new clients are also put through a fitness analysis that checks for a strong heart and joint problems.

It’s not just the body that needs to be ready; for walkers to reap the benefits of a new routine, their minds must be ready, too.

“Stay motivated by making your walk enjoyable. Think of what you may find as rewarding and add that to your plan. You may enjoy listening to music while you walk, so create an inspiring playlist or download an audio book to your iPod,” said Yolanda Rooney, CICPI, Infinity Fitness in Westerville. “Consciously appreciating the benefits your body is receiving by walking may be all of the motivation you need to keep moving.”

Make walking a group effort

“Walk with groups — family, friends. Try to keep your routine as consistent and disciplined as possible. Set days and time, like every Sunday at 1 p.m.,” Beam said. “Reward yourself. If you are walking to a coffeehouse or healthy restaurant, sit down with your friends and eat something healthy like a salad. Exercising, for me, is a very social thing.”

Avoid being a hamster on a wheel

“Switch up your routes or you’ll get bored and quit,” Beam said. “Try a route through a park, your neighborhood, go to a real track, or to the gym on bad weather days.”

Focus on achieving small goals

“Walkers can work on walking a little faster each workout and before they know it, they will have shaved time off of their walk which will help them to stay in better shape,” said Melanie Griest, owner of Forever Fit Personal Training in Dayton. “They can also sign up for a walking race and preparing for the race will help motivate them.”

To increase the intensity of your walk and earn more fitness benefits, walkers can add exercises or movements that increase their heart rate and challenge their muscles.

“When it comes to intervals, there are all sorts of things to do. You can try doing short bursts of faster walking or jogging mixed in with your regular speed. You can choose to time this or use landmarks such as driveways, telephone poles or even verses of a song you might be listening to. You can also do this with a hill; find one and instead of doing your regular routine try walking up the hill and then jogging down and repeat this a few times. After you repeat it just walk for the remainder of your regular workout time,” Griest said. “As for exercises, you can throw in 20 squats or jumping jacks at the corner of each street if you are walking in a neighborhood. You can shorten your walk time by five minutes because adding some of these exercises at each corner should only add a little extra time, but should help you burn more calories than just walking.”

Beam suggests speed-walking for 30 seconds, swinging arms, punching and skipping for a more intense walking workout.

“If you are an experienced walker — strong legs, good joints — do 20 high knees and then return to walking,” Beam said.

Rooney suggests walkers use a stopwatch to time themselves doing walking lunges for 30-60 seconds and then shorten their strides back to a walk.

“Once every five minutes, stop and do something else. For example, if you pass a park bench, stop and do 15-20 incline push ups on the bench. Stop walking and do 25 jumping jacks to increase your heart rate and maximize your caloric burn. You can stop and do sit-ups, hold plank, do burpees,” Rooney said.

Walkers should be careful about adding weights to a walking routine.

“I am totally against ankle weights for walking, jumping, running. Added weight below the waist is very dangerous,” Beam said. “Hand weights, as long as they are light, like 2½ lbs. If on wrists, make sure you are swinging arms above waist, and only use them once or twice a week.”

Griest advises using a weighted vest as a safer option than hand or ankle weights.

Pay attention to your feet before you hit the walking trail.

“Make sure you have proper shoes to walk in that fit correctly. If you are uncomfortable while you are walking, chances are you won’t walk as far,” Rooney said.

Beam considers a cross fit shoe a good choice.

“I do not recommend an all-leather shoe. The shoe should allow feet to breathe,” Beam said. “Depending on the walker — beginner, intermediate or advanced — should change your shoes about every 300 miles. Don’t wear shoes that are 10 years old or you’ll start to have problems.”