The Benefits of Walking Exercise

Walking is the most underrated form of exercise. It isn’t nearly as popular an exercise as running or jogging.  However, walking can be as good as a workout, if not better, than running. This is why I’ve decided to write this post to bring out the benefits of walking exercise.

Is walking better than running

Honestly, it is true that running is more physically demanding, which leads people to label it a better or healthier workout.  But the two really shouldn’t be compared against each other.  Running, due to larger muscle mobilization, greater forces used and faster motion capability, will always have the well-known leg up on walking.  But even though walking might not be a “ better” physical exercise, it may be a better exercise choice for some people.  For example, individuals with knee, ankle and back issues and additionally for people who are overweight to obese. Walking may be a lower impact exercise and may be executed for longer durations of time.

Walking will yield a great deal of similar advantages of running.  But running burns nearly double the quantity of calories as walking.

If you’re unaccustomed to exercise or aren’t able to run, walking will still assist you to get in form. Walking is accessible for nearly all fitness levels. It can boost your heart and give you more energy overall.  Let’s look at the benefits.

Benefits of walking

Burns Calories

Walking can help you burn calories which can help you maintain or even lose weight. Your actual calorie burn will depend on several factors, including: how fast you walk, how far you walk, the terrain (more calories are burned walking uphill than on a flat surface), and your weight.

If an individual wants to burn more calories or slim down quickly, running is a better choice. For example, for somebody who’s a hundred sixty pounds, running at 5 miles per hour (mph) burns 606 calories. However, walking briskly for a similar period at 3.5 mph burns simply 314 calories.

But walking may also provide varied advantages for your health, including helping you maintain a healthy weight.

You can confirm your actual calorie burn through a calorie calculator. For a general estimate, you can also refer to this chart.

Strengthens the heart

Walking a minimum of half an hour every day, five (5) days per week will cut back your risk for coronary cardiopathy (heart disease) by approximately nineteen percent (19 %).  And your risk may be reduced even more if you walk more days and when the duration or distance you walk per day is increased.

Can help lower blood sugar

Taking a brief walk following a meal could facilitate lowering your blood glucose level.

Taking a brief 15-minute walk three (3) times every day (after breakfast, lunch, and dinner) improved blood sugar levels more than by taking a 45-minute walk at another point during the day according to a small study.  However additional analysis is required to confirm these findings.

One might consider taking a post-meal walk a regular part of a routine. It can also help to fit exercise in throughout the day.

Eases joint pain

Walking will facilitate the protecting of the joints, including your knees and hips. This is because it helps lubricate and strengthen the muscles that support the joints.

Walking might also supply benefits for individuals living with the inflammatory disease arthritis, such as reducing pain. And walking five to six miles per week might also facilitate the prevention of arthritis.

Boosts immunity

Walking could cut back your risk for developing a common cold or the influenza.

One study tracked 1,000 adults during flu season. Those who walked at a moderate pace for thirty to forty five minutes every day had forty three (43%) percent fewer sick days and fewer upper respiratory tract infections overall. If they did come down with it, their symptoms were lessened.  This was compared to adults in the study who were sedentary.

You should try to get in a daily walk to experience these benefits. If you reside in a very cold climate, you can try to walk on a treadmill or around an indoor mall.

Boosts energy

Going for a walk when you’re tired may be a more effective for boosting energy than grabbing a cup of coffee.  And more healthy too!

Walking increases oxygen flow through the body. It can also increase levels of the hormones that help elevate energy levels.

Improve your mood

If you’ve had a bad day, walking can help you turn that frown upside down. As stress is reduced and you get some fresh air, your mood is uplifted.  That’s why many doctors recommend going out for a walk as an important part of depression treatment, as well as other conditions.

Extends life

Walking at a quicker pace may extend your life. Researchers
found that walking at an normal pace compared to a slow pace resulted in a 20 % reduced risk of overall death.

But walking at a brisk or rapid pace (at least four [4] miles per hour) reduced the chance by 24 percent. The study looked at the association of walking at a faster pace with factors like overall causes of death, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Increases muscle Tone

Walking increases muscle tone especially in the legs.
Walking can strengthen the muscles in your legs. To build up additional strength, walk on a route that consists of rising and falling areas (hilly) or on a treadmill with an incline. Or include stairs in your designated route.

*Also exchange walking with other cross-training activities like cycling or jogging. You can also perform resistance exercises like squats, lunges, and leg curls to further tone and strengthen your leg muscles.

Clears thinking

Walking might facilitate clearing an individual’s head and assist them to think creatively.

A study
that incorporated four experiments compared individuals attempting to consider of new concepts as they were walking or sitting. Researchers found participants scored higher while walking, notably when walking outdoors.

The researchers determined that walking releases a free flow of concepts and could be an easy way to increase creativity and acquire physical activity simultaneously.

The next time you have to think something through, try taking a walk while doing so.  It may save you some time!  Nothing like killing two birds with one stone!

Thirty minutes a day

The recommended time interval is thirty minutes to achieve the benefits mentioned above.  Just half an hour each day will increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, cut back excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance.

For example, let’s look at burning calories.  At a brisk walking pace, one would burn a hundred to three hundred calories in half an hour.
(depending on your weight) or two hundred to six hundred calories in a hour. By walking
for 30 minutes or more at a time, some of those calories will be from stored fat. During the first 30 minutes of exercise, your body is burning sugars stored as fuel.

On a weekly basis, if you eat 3,500 calories less than your energy requirement, you will lose one pound per week. If your calorie intake and output are in balance, allowing you to maintain a steady weight, and you begin walking 30 minutes a day without increasing your calorie intake, you can calculate what amount of weight you can lose.

If you weigh one hundred fifty (150) pounds and walk uphill for half an hour at 3 ½  mph every day for one week, you will burn two hundred (200) calories. Multiply two hundred (200) calories by seven days, for a total of 1,400 calories. In four weeks, you will have burned 5,600 calories. This equals a weight loss of 1.6 pounds in four weeks.

 To summarize: to induce the health advantages, try to walk for at least 30 minutes as briskly as you can on most days of the week. ‘Brisk’ means that you can still talk but not sing, and you may be slightly winded.

Moderate activities like walking cause very little health risk however, if you currently have a medical condition, seek advice from your doctor before beginning any new exercise program of physical activity.

Please feel free to leave any question, comment or concern below.

Good health!!