In recent years researchers have found the old-fashioned stroll produces amazing results. It can lower your bad cholesterol, increase cardiovascular fitness and stop bone loss. For maximum benefits, gear your walking to your body’s individual needs.Listen to what your body tells you and lets look at 7 ways walking can improve your life.
1. Regular moderate physical exercise has been shown to lower the risk of developing dementia. A research study conducted by neurologists at the Mayo Clinic, indicates this may in fact be the case. They found that taking a 20-minute walk each day could cut down the risk of dementia by a whopping 40%. This new research isn’t stopping there, though. Currently scientists are also exploring whether or not daily walks can slow down the mental progression of patients living with serious diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
2. Walking has been shown to reduce risks of heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, colon cancer and diabetes says the Canadian Journal for Health.
3. Walking is a weight-bearing exercise that helps to strengthen muscles and bones, thus decreasing your risk of developing osteoporosis and arthritis states WebMd.
4. The National Cancer Institute states that walking may help protect against certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer.
5. Walking increases the number of calories your body uses, which helps to benefit weight loss .
6. Walking for 30 minutes three to five times per week for 12 weeks reduced symptoms of depression by 47% (as measured with a standard depression questionnaire) states an article in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine
7. Walking just three times a week for 30 minutes has been shown to significantly increase cardio-respiratory fitness.
Now, get this. One study showed that for “every single hour of television watched after the age of 25 the viewer’s life expectancy was reduced by 21.8 minutes”! (New York Times). And finally, if you’ve got a desk job, then walking just five minutes per hour during every work day would help you burn approximately 33,000 additional calories per year. Provided you didn’t change your diet, the change in walking habit would equate to a loss of body weight of nearly 10 pounds at the end of the year! Considering most people gain weight as they get older, you get a lot of bang for your buck with walking without so much effort!
No matter what your body type, you can gain much more from your walk if you stretch before and after you walk. Just 5 minutes of my dinacharya exercise routine can be really beneficial for neuromuscular integration. The more prepared your body is, the more effective your walk will be. Just click on the link and follow me for a great start to the day by ensuring synovial fluid gets to all the major joints of the body.
Walking may seem obvious to get healthy but did you know there are a myriad of lifestyle, diet and herbal remedies to get you on the road to great health. Schedule a complimentary health consultation to discuss your health challenges with me.
Let’s walk our way to health,
