One thing up front. Personally, I believe, based on study and experience, that walking must be among the best exercises around. Whether you’re interested in health, fitness, weight loss, or aging, there isn’t too many things which have such a beneficial effect. In actuality, before we attempt to humble and belittle walking as an exercise, let us be noble and attempt to point out a number of its good things.
Exercise
As a general, all-purpose exercise, walking IS among the best. Assist in the control of diabetes. Yep, it’s going to be challenging to say bad things about walking. After all, it is so easy to do, and there is no real training or special equipment required. In actuality, we have been doing it for all but about one year of our lives, so what is the deal? If it’s so great, why are not we olympic class athletes and healthy as horses?
Our bodies were designed back when there was a lot more walking than today. Going in the living room sofa to the car, in the car to the office, and back again, with a couple of trips to the refrigerator thrown in does not count. After all, how do we really spend our days. We sit in these cars, at desks, in front of TVs or computers, eat foods filled with non-nutritional meals, and then go to bed.
Let’s understand it
Hey! Did you wake up early this morning, or go to bed late? That’s more time you need to burn off calories, right? Wrong. You just possibly pumped some cortisol in your blood stream, and that is likely to help you pack on weight, but that is another report. The point iswe do not live the way we need to in relation to the amount of action we need. It’s been estimated by serious scientists that we need a minimum of 30 minutes of somewhat strenuous action daily to experience high level health benefits from walking or another exercise.
A few years back, a study suggested that only about 20 percent of Americans met that objective. And while walking is a terrific practice in general, there are a few drawbacks to it. The first issue to get rid of is the”perfect” exercise item. Together with of its health benefits, there are a few things it can not do. Our bodies need stretching almost daily. This doesn’t have to be vigorous or debilitating, but it does have to be routine. Walking can not do that. We also require some weight bearing and resistance training for those areas of the body that walking does not work on.
Remember
Again, this does not need to be incredibly strenuous, but it will have to occur to every region of the body a few times each week. In actuality, a lot of folks split their resistance exercises into upper and lower body, or from another branch, doing one set of exercises daily alternating with the other. For instance, I do barbell training for my upper body on Mondays and Thursdays and my body on Tuesdays and Fridays. Walking also isn’t “perfect” if you’ve got a specific exercise goal it simply doesn’t address.
For example, a tennis player can gain from improved endurance and leg strength through walking, but will have to do additional exercises to strengthen chest and arm muscles for swinging the racket. Walking for wellness needs not just to be routine, but lively also. It might be necessary to warm up before a walk, and, for beginners, it could most likely be required to build up to that 30 minutes we had been talking about.
Good to know
There are even experts who advocate 45 minutes daily, but 30 minutes a day should be the minimum. Additionally, you DO need some fantastic equipment. A fantastic pair of walking shoes in a minimum and clothes appropriate to the weather and temperatures. Whatever you do, incidentally, get your physician’s advice and blessing before embarking on any exercise program. So, here is what you do. Start your own new-you program gently and start walking daily.
Then, when you have given your body a few weeks to accommodate and your mind the opportunity to understand that this is not bad and you really feel better than you used to, and as soon as you’ve made, dare I say the word,”exercise” part of your life, begin with some extremely light weights and start doing resistance exercises a few times a week. Start doing a little stretching every day, and you’ll have it made. Hey! There’s a thought. I believe I’ll write a post on excuses NOT to exercise.