Brisk Walking

Walking as a daily exercise habit can truly be a life-changing positive habit and is one of the most powerful habits for reaching your goal of a healthy trim and fit body. Over the past 20 years, there have been dozens of studies that have proven the benefits of brisk walking.

Thousands upon thousands of people have improved their health and lost weight by the diligent habit of walking. If you think that walking does not provide the same benefits as other more vigorous exercises, think again.

A study published in the September 2002 New England Journal Of Medicine showed that postmenopausal women who walked regularly lowered their risk for heart disease just as much as women who did more vigorous exercise, such as playing sports or running.

This study suggests that walking is just as good for your heart as heavy exercise. Author Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, Chief of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital, Professor of Medicine, at Harvard Medical School said, "The study provides compelling evidence that walking and vigorous exercise provide similar heart benefits, about a 30% to 40% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease with 30 minutes per day of either activity."

 Studies  have also found that brisk walking for at least 3 hours a week can lower the risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer. No pain, no gain, is an outdated notion; exercise doesn’t need to be strenuous or uncomfortable. It can be easy and enjoyable." Even though the study consisted solely of women, it is likely that men would experience similar benefits from the positive habit of brisk walking.

Here are additional benefits you will receive from your habit of brisk walking:

Walking burns calories and helps you lose weight and burn excess body fat.

Walking can help to improve your posture.

Walking requires no special equipment or gyms.

Walking can help lower blood pressure and help prevent circulatory and heart disorders.

Brisk, aerobic walking will give you the benefits of other exercises, such as jogging and cycling, but without the risk of injuries.

Walking at night can help promote better sleep.

Walking increases the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream.

Walking helps elevate good levels of cholesterol.

Walking can help ease lower back pain.

It improves mental performance and mood.

It helps build bone strength.

It helps reduce anxiety and stress.

It Helps to boost your immune system.

It slows the aging process.

It helps to prevent certain cancers.

Walking regularly can help prevent osteoporosis.

Getting Started

It’s easy to get started with your walking habit….just walk out your front door and keep going! The best time to walk is in the morning. You are more likely to continue walking on a daily basis as you will have less distractions in the morning. Remember, your goal is to make walking a positive movement habit. In the morning, you are likely to have better control of your time; as the day progresses you are more apt to be interrupted by your daily responsibilities.

With that said, if you cannot walk in the morning, it is better to have a daily walking habit at any time then no walking habit at all. It’s best to start your daily walking habit by walking for just 10 minutes. After a few days of walking just 10 minutes, you can increase to 20 minutes and then 30 minutes. Your goal is to acquire a daily positive habit of walking 30 minutes.

If you prefer using a treadmill, you can burn more fat at about 75% of your maximum heart rate. This is according to researchers at the University of Birmingham in England. You can figure your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220, multiply that by 0.75, and you have your target.

You can dramatically increase the rate that you burn calories by simply putting the treadmill on a 10% incline. As an example, a 145 pound women will burn 300 calories per hour on a level surface at 3.5 miles per hour, but that rate jumps to 500 calories per hour on a 10% incline.

Wow! need I say any more about walking.  Yes. It is my all time favorite exercise.

To your fabulous health and wellness

Joyce Hearn

www.joycehearn.com/squeeze