Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier. It’s underrated as a form of exercise, but walking is ideal for people of all ages and fitness levels who want to be more active. Walking known for amazing health benefits of walking.
Regular walking has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers.
Use this guide to increase the amount of walking you do every week and maximise the health benefits of walking.
- Start slowly and try to build your walking regime gradually. To get the health benefits of walking, it needs to be of moderate-intensity activity. In other words, it needs to be faster than a stroll.
- If, to begin with, you can only walk fast for a couple of minutes, that’s fine. Don’t overdo it on your first day.
- You can break up your activity into 10-minute chunks, as long as you’re doing your activity at a moderate intensity.
- Begin every walk slowly and gradually increase your pace. After a few minutes, if you’re ready, try walking a little faster.
- Try to walk 10,000 steps a day. Most of us walk between 3,000 and 4,000 steps a day anyway, so reaching 10,000 isn’t as daunting as it might sound.
- Towards the end of your walk, gradually slow down your pace to cool down. Finish off with a few gentle stretches, which will improve your flexibility.
- From walking to the shops or part of your journey to work, to walking the dog and organised group walks, try to make every step count.
Health benefits of walking everyday (walking for health and fitness)
Walking benefits to fight Obesity
Some might say that walking is the easiest form of exercise. Thais is not true because you should not really be strolling but walking at a fairly fast speed and secondly, it can actually help you lose weight.
Improves Blood Circulation
It also wards off heart disease, brings up the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and strengthens the heart. It helps in keeping away the signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles. Proper blood circulation also prevents pimples, acne, and other skin problems. With morning walks, you can naturally gain beautiful skin that stays radiant day after day.
Boost your memory
Exercise is good for the brain but walking in specific is good for boosting your memory. Regular brisk walks can slow down the shrinking of the brain and the faltering mental skills that old age often bring.
The study was done with men and women between the ages of 60 and 80 and it concluded that taking a short walk three times a week increased the size of that part of the brain linked to planning and memory.
Supports your joints
The majority of joint cartilage has no direct blood supply. It gets its nutrition from synovial or joint fluid that circulates as we move. Impact that comes from movement or compression, such as walking, “squishes” the cartilage, bringing oxygen and nutrients into the area.
Good for cardiovascular health
If you are looking at an exercise that will take care of your cardiovascular health, walking is ideal. Brisk walking is considered to be the best form as opposed to walking at a normal pace. However, if your knees don’t permit you to walk fast, walking at a good pace will surely give you the much desired benefits.
Decreases the Risk of Some Cancers
Any type of physical activity will improve metabolism, regulate hormone levels, and enhance immune function, and walking is no different.
An American Cancer Society study reported that an hour of daily walking may reduce a woman’s likelihood of a breast cancer diagnosis by 14 percent. More research needs to be done, but doctors are encouraged.
How much should you be walking for health benefits of walking?
Most people, at times don’t know how much time they should invest in walking and end up either walking too much or too less, thus not reaping any results. According to fitness experts, one should walk for at least 30 minutes, five times a week, if not more for amazing health benefits of walking.
Walking is very therapeutic for me. It relaxes my brain, and at the same time exercises my heart. A good exercise without any expenses. I prefer to walk in natural surroundings, though they are very in cities these days. Along with that polluted air in Delhi NCR sometimes make me wonder, whether these walks will benefit me, or harm me 🙁