Losing weight is an ambition which is shared by a great many people. Unfortunately it conjures up images of starving yourself on the latest fad diet or getting hot, sweaty and out of breath down at the gym. Pounding the pavement or doing laps of the track in the rain is another image. None of these options are especially appealing to the vast majority of people.
It’s possible to lose weight and gain a whole host of other valuable health benefits into the bargain simply by utilising a mode of exercise which most people perform every day, without even thinking about it. Walking is a low injury risk, low impact workout which is ideally suited for most people – at differing levels of health and fitness and across a wide range of age groups. It’s suitable for people recovering from illness or injury and is also a good way to shed weight following childbirth.
The wonderful thing about walking is that it is a one hundred percent natural activity. There’s no need for any special equipment, expertise or training. Anybody can do it, whenever they like and where ever they like. you can fit it into your daily schedule when it’s most convenient for you. There’s no need to find the time for a special trip to the gym – and no need to pay any expensive monthly membership fees either.
The important thing to obtaining all the health benefits and shedding weight by walking is to take a consistent approach. Relatively low level exercise, performed on a regular and frequent basis, is very much better than intermittent periods of high intensity exercise – and it’s much less likely to result in sprains, strains and other injuries as well. Walking for just half an hour daily will soon produce results – as long as it’s done on a regular basis.
If you can build up to 10,000 steps a day on a regular and consistent basis, then you will astonished at just how rapidly you begin to both feel and actually see the benefits. For the average person, 10,000 steps equates to a distance of roughly 5 miles. It sounds like a long way – but it’s a lot easier to achieve than you think.
One of the other attractions of walking is that you don’t require any special equipment. A pair of comfortable shoes that won’t give you blisters is all you really need to get started. One further piece of kit – which isn’t strictly necessary but which you may find useful – is a pedometer. You can buy these starting at less than $10 these days and they will help you to track your progress and monitor results. You can use a pedometer to display your results in terms of the number of steps taken, the distance covered or the number of calories burned. It could help to keep you motivated and ensure that a walking workout becomes an integral part of your daily routine.
Boost the effectiveness of your walking workout with Fitflops fitness shoes. They’re scientifically designed to increase the amount of work your lower body muscles perform during normal walking activity. Both women’s and men’s Fitflops are on offer in a wide choice of colors and styles.