There is a saying, “Who moves the legs, moves the heart”. The explanation is that walking is one of the physical activities that most helps keep general health and, above all, heart health.
Walking is easy to practice, affordable for anyone and very cheap. You don't need any preparation or previous training, nor a specific place to walk. You just need some comfortable shoes and clothes and go for it!
Brisk walking health benefits
- Reduces cardiovascular risk factors.
- Helps to keep a proper body weight.
- Decreases fat deposits in the arteries.
- Controls glucose levels.
- Keeps cholesterol at adequate levels
- Reduces stress and anxiety.
- Improves memory and concentration.
- Strengthens muscles and bones.
How to get the most out of walking
Frequency
Physical activity guidelines call for 150 minutes or more of moderate intensity, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week for adults, or a combination of the two. You don’t need to accomplish the whole-time exercise at once. You can divide the time for the sport in several days. For example, you can walk 30 minutes five times a week. The most important thing is that you move and incorporate walking into your daily routine.
Research has shown that brisk walking for 15 minutes a day can reduce the risk of dying from any cause by 14%. In contrast, people who exercise little or spend eight or more hours a day sitting have up to 7 times the risk of having a stroke than people who exercise or spend less than 4 hours a day sitting.
Intensity
Intensity is important to get the maximum benefits from walking, so you should walk briskly, always depending on your possibilities.
To find out if your brisk walking speed is right, check how you talk while exercising:
- Light pace: it’s easy to talk and have a conversation.
- Moderate pace: you can have a conversation, but it is not easy to talk because you are slowly running out of breath.
- Intense pace: it’s not possible to have a conversation without drowning.
But remember that you can get the benefits of walking at any intensity. If you can't walk briskly, at a moderate pace, walk slower but uphill. If you walk on a treadmill, walk on a slight incline. You can also change the intensity, from light to moderate and vice versa, throughout the walk.
Time
People who are not used to exercising should start slowly and increase the duration of exercise at their own pace until they reach the goal of 150 minutes a week. Every step and every minute counts; anything is better than sitting on the couch. Therefore, don’t be discouraged if it takes longer than you thought to reach that time goal.
Some ideas to start walking
- Park the car a few blocks from your work, the children's school, the supermarket, the cinema...
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator, even if it's just to go up one or two floors.
- While you walk, talk on the phone with your family or friends, listen to your favorite radio show, a podcast, or the music you like the most.
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