Walking is a great way to improve or maintain your overall health.
Just 30 minutes every day can increase cardiovascular fitness,
strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and
endurance. It can reduce your risk of developing conditions such as
heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers. Unlike
some other forms of exercise, walking is free and doesn’t require any
special equipment or training.
Physical activity does not have to be vigorous or done for long periods
in order to improve your health. A 2007 study of inactive women found
that even a low level of exercise – around 75 minutes per week –
improved their fitness levels significantly, when compared to a
non-exercising group.
Walking is low impact, requires minimal equipment, can be done at any
time of day and can be performed at your own pace. You can get out and
walk without worrying about the risks associated with some more vigorous
forms of exercise. It’s also a great form of physical activity for
people who are overweight, elderly or who haven’t exercised in a long
time.
Walking for fun and fitness isn’t limited to strolling by yourself
around local neighbourhood streets. There are various clubs, venues and
strategies you can use to make walking an enjoyable and social part of
your lifestyle.
Health benefits of walking
You carry your own body weight when you walk. This is known as weight-bearing exercise. Some of the benefits include:
- Increased cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness
- Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
- Improved management of conditions such as hypertension (high
blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint and muscular pain or stiffness,
and diabetes
- Stronger bones and improved balance
- Increased muscle strength and endurance
- Reduced body fat.
Walking for 30 minutes a day
To get the health benefits, try to walk for at least 30 minutes as
briskly as you can on most days of the week. ‘Brisk’ means that you can
still talk but not sing, and you may be puffing slightly. Moderate
activities such as walking pose little health risk but, if you have a
medical condition, check with your doctor before starting any new
exercise program of physical activity.
Building physical activity into your life
If it’s too difficult to walk for 30 minutes at one time, do regular
small bouts (10 minutes) three times per day and gradually build up to
longer sessions. However, if your goal is to lose weight, you will need
to do physical activity for longer than 30 minutes each day. You can
still achieve this by starting with smaller bouts of activity throughout
the day and increasing these as your fitness improves.
Physical activity built into a daily lifestyle plan is also one of the
most effective ways to assist with weight loss and keep weight off once
it’s lost.
Some suggestions to build walking into your daily routine include:
- Take the stairs instead of the lift (for at least part of the way).
- Get off public transport one stop earlier and walk to work or home.
- Do housework like vacuuming.
- Walk (don’t drive) to the local shops.
- Walk the dog (or your neighbour’s dog).
Make walking part of your routine
Try to make walking a routine – for example, try to walk at the same
time each day. Remember, you use the same amount of energy, no matter
what time of day you walk, so do what is most convenient for you. You
may find that asking someone to walk with you will help make it a
regular activity. Some people find that keeping an activity diary or log
also makes it easier.
Wearing a pedometer while walking
A pedometer measures the number of steps you take. You can use it to
measure your movement throughout a day and compare it to other days or
to recommended amounts. This may motivate you to move more. The
recommended number of steps accumulated per day to achieve health
benefits is 10,000 steps or more.
A comfortable intensity for walking
For most people, there is little difference in the amount of energy used
by walking a kilometre or running a kilometre – it’s just that walking
takes longer. Plan to cover a set distance each day and monitor how long
it takes you to walk this distance. As your fitness improves, you will
be able to walk a longer distance and use more energy.
source article:http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/walking_for_good_health?open
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