Walking your way to Health and Fitness
Posted on 25 August 2008
We are evolved to do good amounts of walking everyday, this is obvious from the way we stand upright and how easy we find it to walk. Walking encompasses huge benefits for not only the body but the mind as well. I have put together a short roundup of why we should all try and fit in some more walking to our lives today…
I’ve been through every diet under the sun, and I can tell you that getting up, getting out, and walking is always the first goal.
- Oprah Winfrey
We stand upright for a reason
The fact that we stand upright instead of on all fours like most of the other species on earth is simply down to the fact that it is far more energy efficient. Walking on our legs saves us 4 times as much energy in comparison to walking on arms and legs like chimps or dogs do. We have evolved to be like this as our ancestors did vast amounts of walking each day to travel. They occasionally did more explosive activity like sprints to catch prey or short jogs to get somewhere quicker, but most the time they just walked.
Walking is one of the most natural things for our body to do it just feels right.
Don’t worry about calories it burns
Although walking doesn’t burn very many calories and should not replace a proper exercise regime it is something that is very important and you fit into your lifestyle. It’s easy to fit in a walk first thing in the morning or a 15 minute walk after dinner to unwind before bed. For some reason when we do good amounts of walking (1-2 hours a day) like most of us do on holiday you will find it very hard to put on weight in spite of our diet. It almost seems that our bodies like to know they are being kept active.
Host of Benefits
Walking encompasses a variety of health benefits which apply to us all whether your a seasoned trainer or someone looking to get started with a healthier lifestyle.
- Its Great for our circulation and lymphatic system, a short 30 minute brisk walk will get your body functioning the way its suppose to. Your lymphatic system will start working to flush out toxins and your heart will beat faster helping circulation to your arms, feet and organs.
- Mental Health, Going for a 30 minute or longer walk in a peaceful environment must be one of the best stress busters known to man, its amazing how problems and anxieties can life when you go for a walk. Try to find somewhere peaceful like a local park or trail. You don’t have to do this alone walking around with a good friend is also very relaxing.
Walking makes you feel good!
- Fasted Walks. Are probably one of the best ways to burn fat and get leaner, if you haven’t tried this already wake up grab a black coffee and go for a long walk while listening to some music, a podcast or whatever you want. This is probably the easiest way to lose a bit of weight and get leaner, it can also relax you and if you listen to something constructive you can make it a very productive practice.
- Control Blood Glucose. There are various studies showing a 45 minute walk a day can stabilize your blood glucose levels. This basically means you will be happier, have less hunger pangs, metabolize your food better and feel better in general.
- Great Low Impact, exercise it will keep your bones and joints limber as it involves close to no impact unlike jogging.
It also helps strengthen the tendons in your knees and ankle’s so long
walks are especially good as recovery methods or to ease yourself into
an exercise regime.
So Easy to Fit in
Anyone can fit some extra walking into their lives. Personally I try to walk for at least 30 minutes everyday on top of my exercise plans. I fit this in by using less public transport and walking to most places I go, all it takes is setting out a little earlier.
-When Commuting to work or getting places, try to fit in more walking either set out earlier and walk to your destination or get off public transport a few stops earlier and walk part of the way.
- Take a short walk before bed. A late evening walk (10-15 minutes) will not only help you digest your dinner it will allow you to relax and reflect on the day before you hit the sack. Clearing your head before sleeping is essential to a good nights rest.
- On Weekends. I like to get up do some browsing on the net and just go for a walk, pickup a coffee, grab a newspaper and slowly grab breakfast. This will usually lead to me having walked for at least 15 minutes without me even realizing it, by the time I have drunk my black coffee and read the newspaper I will have been on the go for a while and walked quite a bit, without eating prolonging my fat burning morning fast.
- Going shopping for food. If you live within walking distance of a grocery store its a great oppurtunity to fit in some walking. You will be surprised how carrying your groceries and walking to and from the grocery store will keep you up on your feet and walking about for 30 minutes if not more without you even realizing.
- Just get it in. Go for long walks with your friends or family. It is great bonding time and allows you to explore surroundings while keeping fit, a stress and boredom buster.
Those are just some ideas from the top of my head and ways I fit in walking and staying on my feet during the day. Walking can be used as a great tool to relax, burn fat and enjoy life.
28 comments so far
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Comment by Stacey
25 August 2008
I love walking for pleasure and stress relief. Getting outside is critical for my clear mind! I enjoy walking to the post office to mail letters or check my po box. When I walk to the library or post office, I feel like I’m doing something good for the environment, too!
Comment by MizFit
25 August 2008
here from MDA!
love how youve laid it all out for us in easy to GET bites!
Comment by Chris
25 August 2008
@ MizFit: Thanks for checking in, I find your blog very interesting and am happy you found the article useful and clearly laid out!!
@ Stacey: Its great you find as much pleasure in walking as I do, it really is the best way to clear the mind. I just came back home from a long walk after a great steak for lunch and it really cleared my mind.
Comment by Keith Norris
25 August 2008
Chris,
And, use a good walk for an added bonus to the post-weight training fat “after burn”. Prime the pump with a weight session, and intensify the fat burning environment you’ve just established with a nice, long walk. Or bike ride, for that matter.
Keep up the good work, Chris!
Keith
Comment by Tom Parker
26 August 2008
Great post Chris. I don’t have a care and so end up walking to do the majority of my shopping. It’s a surprisingly good workout (especially if you get a lot of shopping
). Plus, it saves a lot of money on taxi fares.
Comment by Chris
26 August 2008
@ Keith. I always try to go for a walk after a weights workout definitely makes use of the mobilized fat, Thanks for the great reminder. Also very nice of you to link me on your blog, I returned the favor….
@ Tom. Thats excellent, a big shopping in a market and local grocery store will keep me walking and on my feet for over and hour its a great thing to do to keep active.
Comment by Melissa
26 August 2008
Your website is beautiful! This is a great post on how important walking is for good health.
Add in some high-intensity intervals to your walk and you can burn a good amount of calories!
Comment by Richard Nikoley
26 August 2008
I walk about 4-5 miles per day, and have for a long time. My two Rat Terriers love it too.
http://www.honestylog.com/root/2008/06/learning-to-walk.html
It’s about 3.5 miles first thing every morning, which takes roughly an hour, and then it’s one or two additional walks afternoon and evening.
However, I must second the caution that it’s not primary for weight maintenance and certainly ineffective for weight loss, by itself. Rather, it should be part of life plan of good eating and intermittent HIT and fasting.
I began the morning walks around 2001 or so, and am religious about it. I really love it, first thing in the AM. I initially did it thinking that it would keep me at weight, maybe even lose some. I was at 5’10, 205 pounds. 5-6 years later, I was at 230, after 6,000 miles of daily walking.
Here’s what I looked like when I finally stopped the insanity (doing same thing, expecting different result), and how I looked just a few months after getting on a proper diet, along with some fasting.
http://www.honestylog.com/root/2008/02/a-path-in-pictu.html
Like they say, it’s 80% diet.
Comment by Soultravelers3
26 August 2008
I loved your title, because I love walking! I am also doing the group writing project, but mine is not up yet, because I just posted it.
We are going on our third year of an open ended world tour as a family and one of the reasons that I love this lifestyle is because we get to walk so much while we are seeing great sites or beautiful countryside.
Good luck with the contest and happy walking!!
Comment by Ava Semerau
27 August 2008
Walking is the only form of exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise – how great is that!
Thanks for an informative post.
Ava Semerau
And God Was Pleased: Biblical Principles for Creating Christian Success
Comment by JustinLL
27 August 2008
It’s not that I love walking so much as I enjoy getting from place to place on foot. I live in the midtown/downtown area of my city for a reason, and I love that.
Nice post. Keep ‘em coming.
Comment by Steph
27 August 2008
Chris, love your blog and your post! I knew walking was good but didn’t quite understand why until now. Thanks for submitting your post to ProBlogger’s title contest!
Oprah’s quote is poignant. Walking was also how I began my commitment to healthy living, and was the first step in getting my summer beach body – which I outlined in a post series on my blog:
http://www.livelighter.org/bodacious-beach-bod-series-%e2%80%93-step-1/#more-128
I’ll definitely be coming back for more great content – keep up the good work.
Comment by Chris
27 August 2008
@ Steph. Your blog is awesome just checked it out, very cool to find new great sites! Glad you enjoyed the article and like the design…
@ Justin. Thats the beauty of living in the middle of a city its so easy to fit in walking everyday just going about your daily life.
Comment by Kaili
17 May 2010
You are so right! Fitness, even imperfect, is always worth the effort.