Walking – A Very Effective Way To Improve your Health
Walking is one of the best forms of exercise that you can take part in, and it’s an activity which the majority of us do on a daily basis anyway. It needs no special equipment, there are no expensive monthly gym fees to pay and you can work it into your daily schedule whenever it’s good for you. If you look at the potential health benefits of walking you might be forgiven for thinking that you were looking at an advert for some new wonder drug – but they are very real and easily obtainable with no more than a few minor changes to your daily routine.
The majority of health professionals recommend a target of 10,000 steps daily in order to obtain the numerous health benefits achievable. That equates to a distance of between four and a half and five miles for most of us. It does sound like quite a long way – but it’s easier to achieve than you might imagine. Bearing in mind the potential health benefits on offer, a little extra effort to fit walking into your day is well worth your while.
It’s quite possible that you may be some way under the recommended 10,000 step level. If you’re not certain how many steps you currently take then it could be a good idea to get hold of an Omron pedometer in order to find out what your daily average is. You can pick these up pretty cheaply these days – but be certain to choose one which has a double axis sensor fitted as these tend to be more accurate.
Once you have established the average number of steps you take on a daily basis, you should seek out ways to make up any shortfall between your daily average and the 10,000 step target value. There are plenty of ways to achieve this – just be sensible and start off slowly, there’s no need to do it all at once.
If you can find time in your daily routine to slot in a fairly long walk then that’s perfect. If that’s not feasible for you then don’t worry – there are plenty of other ways to increase your step count. Leave the car at home and walk to work, school or the shops. Use the stairs instead of taking the lift. Get off the bus one or two stops before your final destination and walk the last leg.
Make modern technology work for you by walking around whenever you talk on your mobile phone. You can fit in an extra 1,000 or 1,500 paces during a fifteen minute phone call. Opportunities to build walking into your daily schedule abound – and small changes soon add up.
Another way to take advantage of modern technology would be to wear a pair of the new style of exercise shoes which are specially designed to increase the amount of work your lower body muscles do whilst walking. Skechers Shape Ups, Reeboks EasyTones and Fit flops sandals are all examples of this type of exercise shoe.
If you have any medical conditions, if you haven’t taken regular exercise for a while, or if you’re over forty years old then it would be a good idea to talk to your doctor prior to embarking on any new fitness program. However, considering that walking is a low impact workout which carries a very low injury risk, it should provide you with many health benefits. You will be feeling better, enjoying increased energy levels and losing weight before you know it – and you won’t need a pedometer or a set of scales to tell you how well you’re doing. You will feel the benefit and the results will be visible.
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