There is so
much evidence to suggest of the huge benefits from exercise, however so many
people have been brought up to simply dread exercise duet to being unfit
growing up and being pushed to hard at school or by their parents. Walking however is one form of exercise that
can be done at all forms of fitness, and while socialising. The benefits of walking are extensive and the
best part is everyone can do it.
If your exercise routine isn’t tailored to your body type and weight-loss needs, you’re probably huffing and puffing for nothing. Make exercise work for you: Target your exercise routine to your circumstances and actually lose more weight with less effort! Learn more
Studies are
now showing that the same health benefits can be attained from low intensity
work outs. This includes exercises such
as walking, biking and gardening. The
most important part was the actual time spent exercising, rather than the
intensity. So in actual fact the old 'no
pain, no gain' mentality does not stand true anymore.
In a group
of 44,452 American male professionals, who walked 30 minutes a day, has resultant 18% lower risk for coronary
artery disease. A similar study for
women who walked 1 hour per day had a 51% reduction from walking 1 hour per
day. The benefits are much more wide
spread then heart disease alone, and it has in fact been suggested that
insufficient exercise contributes to 4 of the leading causes of death in: heart
disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes.
Type 2
diabetes is another condition largely affected by exercise. The reason why exercise helps so much in the
fight against Type 2 diabetes is that contracting muscles soak up blood sugars
found in the blood stream and therefore play a role in keeping blood glucose at
‘normal levels’. According to a study by
Dr. Frank Booth, 30 – 50 % of all cases of Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart
disease an many cancers were prevented by 30 minutes of moderate intensity
exercise each day. It also goes on to
say that 20 of the worlds most deadliest chronic diseases can be affected by
physical activity.
Walking can be much easier to get motivated for than high intensity exercise, especially when fitness levels are not high. The most important message to take out of this article is that low intensity exercise such as walking has huge health benefits and should become part of your daily routine. Some changes you can make to increase your walking each day include:
- walk 15 minutes to and from work/ the train station,
- take a walk to and from the café at lunch time, and
- use the stairs at work and go at least a total of 15 floors per day (perhaps in 3 lots of 5 floors or however you like),
Find out what works best for you and give it a go, as the
quality of your life is the most important thing.
Create an exercise plan that suits your lifestyle. See the weight come off fast with a set of exercises that matches your fitness level, available time and individual body type.
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