In fact, research shows that the list of health benefits you reap by simply putting one foot in front of the other is constantly growing. Here are just a few of the standout benefits your body enjoys by walking:
- Reduces your risk of many cancers, including breast, colon, and prostate.
- Reduces your risk of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States
- Improves your blood pressure and cholesterol
- Raises your metabolism so that you burn calories at a faster rate
- Promotes more restful sleep
- Helps prevent the onset of non-insulin dependent (Type 2) diabetes.
- Reduces your risk for osteoporosis.
- Helps increase your energy levels, flexibility, and posture.
- Slows aging by improving your brain function – one of the best benefits of walking!
- Elevates your mood to prevent or reduce depression.
Advice for a Walking Workout
Grab your shoes, dog leash, buddy and family and hit the pavement. But first, here are some helpful tips to help you maintain proper form, prevent injury and maximize your workout:
- Don’t skip the warm up. Walking may not seem rigorous on your body, but even a moderate pace requires some easing into. Make sure to include at least five minutes of warm up, be it a slower walk or other movements, before you begin.
- Training is key. Because you often don’t break a sweat while walking, people tend to think, “It’s only a few miles. I don’t need to train first!” But you need to help your body build up to any activity, walking included. That’s especially true with long walks, multi-day events or when the terrain involves an incline.
- It’s all in the arms. get and keep those arms swinging, but make sure you’re pumping forward and back, not side-to-side. Cross-body or lateral arm swings don’t provide as much momentum, so keep those elbows in!
- Wear the right shoes. Just like runners often have their gait diagnosed by specialty athletic shoe stores to determine what type of shoe is best for them, walkers can benefit from that same precision. Getting properly fitted for your footwear can help with ankle support and balance.
- Let your toes in on the fun. Walking uses the intrinsic muscles in your feet and strengthening them can also improve balance and ankle support.
- Bring some weights along. Adding a few additional pounds to your ankles and/or wrists or just holding small dumbbells while you pump your arms helps improve the strength training aspect of walking. But always balance the weight out on both sides but don’t overdoing it.
- Change it up. The initial effectiveness you experience from your daily workout diminishes over time, causing people to plateau in their fitness goals. Avoid too much repetition by varying either your speed or your distance every few weeks. A 10 percent increase in either should do the trick.
- Don’t slouch those shoulders. Keeping your shoulders back and your head up helps stave off bad posture while walking, which can cause sciatic nerve pain. It also helps maintain a strong core.
- Beware
of over-striding. It’s possible to reach too far with your legs while walking, which causes undo strain on your joints and can lead to pulled muscles. Try to find your sweet spot.
Keep in mind that the most important thing about walking, exercise and eating healthier is to just start. Before you know it, you’ll be walki
ng your way to a more fit, healthier you.