A lot of people seem to shy away from taking exercise because they think that it will be too strenuous. Some people may think that they aren’t fit enough to get fit, others may have medical conditions which mean that they can’t over exert themselves. Others may just be put off by the thought of visiting the gym and getting all hot and sweaty. Whatever the reasons, and there are plenty of them, it can be very hard to get motivated to take exercise – even although we all know that we should.
However, there is one form of exercise which can be taken by the large majority of people. It requires no special equipment and there’s no need to get all hot and bothered. Walking is an excellent way to get a low impact, low injury risk, workout. Most people do it every day without thinking about it. It can be dropped in to your daily schedule whenever is most convenient for you – and there are no monthly gym membership fees to pay either.
There are a great many health benefits to walking as a method of taking exercise. It reduces the risk of heart problems and stroke, it lowers blood pressure, increases lung capacity and strengthens the heart. It builds muscle and, because it is a weight bearing exercise, it also increases bone density. It burns calories and will, if carried out on a regular basis, lead to weight loss. It can even reduce the probability of depression and lower the risk of contracting certain types of cancer.
It’s a long, and for many people, attractive list of health benefits – which can be achieved with very little effort and without the need to turn into a fitness fanatic overnight. Walking for as little as half an hour a day can very quickly produce noticeable results when carried out regularly. If you can eventually build up to something around 10,000 steps a day – which is, for most people, about five miles – then you will soon start to lose weight, shed inches from your waistline, feel generally better and have more energy.
Consistency is the important thing. Take it easy at first and gradually increase your distance over time. Leave the car in the garage and walk to the shops, walk to school, walk to work. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. It soon adds up. Whilst you don’t need anything other than a good, comfortable pair of shoes to get started, you might find it worthwhile to get a pedometer which can be used to track your progress in terms of distance covered, number of steps taken or calories burned. These can be picked up for less than $10 these days and it might be a good way of not only recording your progress, but staying motivated at the same time. An mp3 player – which would let you listen to your favourite tunes as you walk – might also be a good option for you (again, these can be picked up at reasonable cost these days).
If you have an existing medical condition, if you’re over 40, or if you haven’t taken any regular exercise for some time, then be sure to seek the advice of your doctor before embarking on any new exercise regime. However, as long as you’re sensible and take it easy at first, taking regular exercise by walking will help you to improve your health, lose weight, have more energy and generally feel better.
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