Exercise

Magic Pill For All Health Problems – Walking

January 6, 2010
By Ajay Narang

Does the heading sound cliched? Does it seem like an exaggerated statement? Perhaps you are thinking ‘I know it all’. If yes, WALK up to the mirror and if it reflects the truth, come back and continue reading.

Congratulations! You have taken the first step to stay fit forever. Before we take the step ahead, it may interest you to know that brisk walking for 90 to 120 minutes a week can cure type 2 diabetes, reduces the risk of heart attack, strengthens the leg bones, keeps depression at a distance, decreases the risk of breast cancer, and frees you from many other illnesses.

Today we will only discuss how we get started with walking. Let me leave the benefits of walking for the next week.

If you doubt your abilities or you have a feeling of being left out while walking with seasoned walkers in the park, you can start with strolling on the pavement for a distance of five minutes from your home and then turn back. Repeat this exercise three to four times and even before you have realized it, you would have completed 30 to 40 minutes of walking. The next step would be to increase the distance and speed and gradually join the power walkers in the park.

Exercising in any form is an addiction and walking is no different. We humans tend to adopt the harmful addictions and leave the good ones (exercising). Now the question is – how do you motivate yourself? One of my very good friends generally buys new walking gear of well known brands to motivate herself to walk every morning. When asked the reason, she quickly prompted, “Walking gear makes me look fit and the new walking gear every month gives me the motivation to walk everyday.”

With or without gear, walking is a pleasurable exercise. It neither demands a specific time of the day nor is it mandatory to have breakfast before morning walks. If you are travelling to a new city, you can walk and explore the city or discover small lanes that lead you to your house. If you are in a place where it rains frequently, I will advise mall walking; my women readers may benefit from this advice, but their partners would curse me for this! During rains the architecture lovers would find immense pleasure in exploring architectural arenas or forts while completing their daily dose of walking.

In case you are residing near the forests or mountains, hiking or walking in the woods can have a calming effect while you complete your walking exercise. An ancient, but most effective, way to exercise is talking and walking with a partner. You would never want to be the first one to slow down and the results cannot be hidden. I understand that in today’s time it is a little difficult to find a partner, so you can walk with a pedometer instead. The device can display your exact number of steps and the distance covered in a certain time. Talking about partners, your pet dog can be your best walking companion. Health experts believe that dog walking for two to three times a day for 20 minutes each is better than working out in the gym.

Walking is no different from any other aerobic workout, but it does require a lot of dedication and can be a major contributor to your weight loss program. A well-known research did prove that walking briskly for 20 minutes a day can help you lose around 14 pounds a year. Since weight loss requires burning of calories, you need to keep a check on your eating habits in order to lose weight while you continue the good habit of walking daily.

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