Walking

What is the importance of walking and why do I mention it? It is not new news, we all know that a sedentary life isn’t good for our health because it significantly increases our risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and diabetes and mentally affects our anxiety and depression. If anything has changed over the last two years it’s how much more sedentary we are. Walking can be the smallest and easiest change to incorporate into your life, try by getting out for 20-30 minutes a day walking briskly, A brisk walk shouldn’t make you breathless and you should be able to hold a conversation. Swing those arms when walking to get the pace and heart rate up!

Use the 20-30 minutes as time for bonding with your partner, walking the dog, having alone time or quality time with the kids or join a regular neighborhood group. This is a great way to improve the emotional side of your life.

Physical activity, such as walking, can have the same effect as anti-depressant medication on our brains. You know about the increase in endorphins while exercising but what about all these other hormones, dopamine, adrenaline and endocannabinoid these are all associated with feeling happy, feeling confident, capable, less anxious and stress.

The mental energy required with walking is less effort than going to the gym or running, which needs an outfit change and maybe a drive to the gym. You technically don’t have to change out of your work clothes or PJ’s to get those steps in….

To increase this effect on your mental health even more is to walk in nature. This has been shown to improve psychological health by decreasing stress, improving mood and replenishing mental fatigue.

The low impact of walking is good for you if you have joint problems. Walking has shown to improve joint flexibility and stability. As you age walking can reduce the amount of fall injuries by 44%, this is important to those who have osteoporosis.

As per usual the key to all of this is consistency, long term it is better for your body to be moving every day than vigorously working out 3x a week for 45 minutes. If your schedule only allows for 20 minutes, start there and be consistent.

Research has shown that because walking is less intensive than a work out and can be shorter in time, walking is more enjoyable for the average person, which leads to improved involvement and compliance.

If you’re not the type of person who is already exercising 7 days a week regularly, start off with 3x and build up to 5x a week. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommended a minimum of 30 minuets but this can be broken down into three 10-minute sessions per day. Small bouts of activity are better than knocking yourself out with a workout that will be hard to replicate.

It is important to remember when embarking on a new journey, that this will take time to become a habit and once a habit, it will take time to become a lifestyle change.

Exercising needs to become a personality trait, something you do because it’s you, not because you have to or because it’s good for you.

Good Luck with getting those steps in!