subject: Have You Thought About Walking As A Way To Take Exercise [print this page] Have You Thought About Walking As A Way To Take Exercise
Walking is becoming more widely recognised as one of the best ways to take exercise. It's an enjoyable, low injury risk, low impact way to exercise and you can even introduce a social element to it if you wish. For someone who is new to exercise, or maybe hasn't exercised for some time, walking is the perfect introduction.
You don't need any special equipment or training and you can fit it into your daily routine whenever it suits you best. It's also very cost effective. There are no monthly gym fees to pay, so it won't cost you a fortune to get in shape.
Just as with other physical activities, you will use up additional calories when you are actively engaged in walking. However, the really good news is that you will also increase you metabolic rate. What that means is that you will burn calories faster throughout the day, whatever you're doing. If you're sitting reading a book, surfing the internet, watching TV - or even while you're fast asleep - you will burn calories faster than if you weren't exercising.
Apart from weight loss, walking on a regular basis will provide you with many health benefits. Your heart will be strengthened and your blood circulation will improve as walking increases oxygen intake in the blood. It can be an effective way to lower blood pressure, it can strengthen your lungs and it is even effective against anxiety and depression. The probability of contracting certain forms of cancer can also be reduced by walking on a regular basis. Walking will provide you with more energy and will help you to sleep better. The full list of health benefits is too long to include in full. Walking is like a miracle drug.
One good way to make sure your walking sessions are fun is to make it a social event. Go for a walk around the block with some of your work colleagues during your lunch break - or walk around your neighbourhood or local park with neighbours, friends and family members in the evening. If you prefer, you can just take your dog for a nice long walk.
When you're listening to your favorite tunes, the miles and the time will simply fly by. If you don't already have one, investing in an mp3 player might be a good idea. Be careful not to turn the volume up too high and pay attention to traffic, especially if you're in a busy location.
There have been a number of advances in fitness footwear technology recently. You can now take your pick from a range of "toning" shoes such as Fit flops sandals, Skechers Shape Ups shoes, Masai Barefoot Technology shoes and Reebok Easy Tones exercise shoes. These all claim to increase the efficiency of your walking exercise program by making your lower body muscles work a little harder when you're walking. They do this using specially designed soles, which either mimic the effect of walking on soft sand or introduce an element of microscopic imbalance which makes your lower body muscles work a bit harder.
If you find it hard to keep your motivation up, then a pedometer might be a good idea. An Omron pedometer is accurate to within 5% and will display your progress in terms of steps taken, calories used or distance covered. Health and fitness professionals generally agree that a target of 10,000 steps daily is what's required in order to achieve a whole host of health and fitness benefits - not just weight loss. Carry your pedometer with you throughout the day and you will soon be actively looking for ways to boost your daily step count.
