Walk Your Way to Better Health
Walking isn’t the talk of the fitness world like CrossFit, mud runs, and marathons but it really should be. Many fitness experts stress daily movement such as walking, over workouts and an active lifestyle, due to many not being able to successfully commit to an active lifestyle and workout routine. Walking is a superfood and it is a lot easier to get movement than it is to get exercise.
Regular walking, like most aerobic activities, is good for you because cardio-vascular exercise strengthens the heart and lungs, increasing overall fitness. Together with diet and other exercise plans, it can also help with weight loss and tone up muscles. It is good for bones and improves the body's cardiovascular system. It also helps boost circulation. Power-walking, keeping a brisk pace at moderate to high intensity, can burn the same amount of calories as jogging or running. Walking is low impact and does not have the same potential for injury as jogging. Yet it can offer all the benefits. Also, walking helps to drain the lower legs of excess fluid and can help prevent varicose veins through the pumping action of the calf muscles. The increased supply of oxygen from walking promotes the ridding of waste products in the tissues. Regular walking is also better for the spine than running, as it puts less stress on the discs and allows vitamins to get to the discs through the pumping action it causes.
Overall, walking has a lot of benefits for your health but how do you make sure you’re getting the most out of your walks? For starters be sure there isn’t a slight 'bounce' to your step since this will not only slow you down, but also place a strain on your joints. Instead, when taking a step, let the heel land first. If you think about how your body weight is distributed, it makes sense to land the foot in a heel-to-toe motion. As you take the movement from heel towards the ball of the foot, try to make a slight rolling motion inwards. This will help to give you more power when you push off with your foot and result in a faster stride. Walking can burn just as many calories as jogging if you walk with a special technique. If you walk with a slight swivel in your hips with each stride, it makes you move faster. Yes, it can make you look a little strange but, mile for mile, it uses the same calories as you would if you were jogging.Maintaining your posture also makes a huge contribution in obtaining the maximum benefits from walking. Walking tall with your shoulders back and also holding the ribcage up and tummy muscles in will tighten your core as you hike along. This means you get an additional midriff work-out while walking. Even you want even more of a workout while you’re walking try squeezing your glute muscles to begin toning your backside. *Try to walk for 30 minutes daily, for a minimum of five days a week. But you can split the walk into a couple of 15-minute journeys each day or make up for lost time with an extra-long walk at the weekend.
Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-122898/Why-walking-workout-good-body.html
http://www.today.com/health/walking-superfood-fitness-experts-say-2D80181838
