Walking For Your Health

There are so many benefits from keeping fit, but depending on what way a person chooses to keep fit can cost a lot of money in memberships or equipment. Some programs may be difficult to do or keep up with and this lowers the rate of success in the program itself.

While swimming and jogging will burn a huge and substantial amount of calories, and not everyone has access to a pool or has the level of fitness to be a jogger; walking is something that everyone can do. Walking can be done by people at all types of levels of fitness and over time if regularly performed, one who walks can start to see weight loss.

The goal, however, is to be active and walking can help with that. There are many benefits to walking regularly. In fact, a lot of doctors are making this a prescription and advising their patients that if they can, for the health, they should walk three times per week for at least Thirty-five minutes per day.

All of the top agencies, hospitals and health organizations such as Prevention Magazine, The Arthritis Foundation, and The Mayo Clinic, for example, have all agreed the benefits of regular walking is astounding.  Walking is low-impact (better for the joints), improves balance and coordination, lowers risk of blood clots, improved circulation and brings more oxygen into your body, prevents muscle loss, strengthens bones and muscles(lowers risk of hip fractures), boosts up metabolism, improves mood thus improving sleep and helping with insomnia ….shall I keep going?  Because I can….walking lowers Blood pressure, which lowers risk of stroke (by 20%) and helps prevent heart disease, trims down waist-line, and thus, in turn, lowers the risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes. That’s beautiful!

Brisk walking for at least thirty minutes can burn 200 calories.  There are more intense walking programs that involve walking regularly for 3 to 5 minutes, then very brisk for 5 to 10 minutes, then stopping to do a strength/stretching move for 10 reps., then back to brisk walking for 5 to 10 and again 1 more strength move. This burns more calories, but it is an intense program.

There are programs on-line to join, Facebook has many walking groups, there are journal pages one can print to keep track of your walking progress. Other places to seek group involvement are libraries, neighborhood groups, and hospitals.

Walking is free, put on a pedometer and your ear buds and tunes and have a great walking journey into health!