As a fitness professional, I’ve heard it a thousand times, “I don’t like running, but everyone knows it’s the BEST exercise for losing weight and getting in shape…right”?
Well this all too prominent misconception has a lot of people missing out on a very good thing. Walking is one of the most user friendly and accessible fitness activities available to us today. In fact, studies show that even a moderate walking program of approximately 20 to 30 minutes per day can reap impressive rewards. The list includes first and foremost, a reduced risk of heart disease. Walking can raise “good” HDL cholesterol levels while helping to assist in lowering high blood pressure. Walkers themselves report reduced feelings of tension, stress and overall fatigue, (sign me up). As for the battle of the bulge, try this on for size…A person weighing 150 pounds can expect to lose 10 to 12 pounds a year by just by adding 20 minutes of walking to their schedule daily. Want to lose more, walk more and pay attention to your daily caloric intake as well.
The added benefit here of course is a lowered risk of type 2 diabetes; a veritable plague on our Nation today. Moderate walking is an activity that most people STICK TO FOR A LIFE TIME. That may be the best news of all. However, there’s always room to bump it up a notch.
Here’s how. Tomorrow, I plan on walking myself silly. I’ll be in NYC and pounding the pavement from sun up till sunset with a pedometer strapped to my hip. We are in the heart of the Holiday Season after all and the BIG APPLE calls. I’ll be there, just as I am every year at this time; spending the day looking at lights, shopping and tomorrow… seeing a show with my ‘Hot Hubby’. It happens to be HIS BIRTHDAY, so we’ll be celebrating there as well. But birthdays or not, you’ll find me there this time of year. Whether it’s with my Hot Husband in tow, a close friend who can MOVE, or better still for me…ALL ALONE! The point is, I GO! But since I always have to leave way before the sun comes up, there’s just never time for a workout, or is there? You bet there is. How? Because the best kept secret to cardiovascular fitness IS Power Walking but especially to the tune 10, 000 steps per day.
A mile is approximately 2,000 steps logged on a pedometer.
Every time I leave for the city, I zero out my pedometer and check its balance at the end of the day. Upon boarding the bus, you can always hear me giggle with glee! Miss out on my workout? I think not. I usually log close to 18,000 steps. Do the math. That’s close to 9 MILES of hoofing it along the streets of the City! I’ll take it, how about you? So lace up your sneakers and hit the pavement. Wear a pedometer to work tomorrow and do nothing different. Check your steps at the end of the day. If you find you have say 2,500…that’s a mile and a quarter. Need a few more to really count towards your daily fitness level. So the next day, strap it on again and do a few laps around your building during lunch or park far away from your errands at the end of the day. Add a few trips back and forth on the stairs and you’ll be surprised just how many miles have logged when the day is done. Give it a try. One thing we know, moderate or full throttle, walking is an activity that wins TWO THUMBS UP! Trust me….after all, what do you have to lose? In this scenario, there can only be one answer…NOTHING YOU’D WANT TO KEEP!!
Keep on trucking...
Candace
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