Today, FGW will finally be talking about workout. It’s been forever since I’ve written about something that comes in the name of my site itself.
We will discuss the most amazing exercise today. It’s something you are familiar with and most of you do it on a regular basis. We will then learn some of its benefits, and how much is good for you to stay healthy, and for the first time ever I’ll be sharing an interactive activity and nominating some bloggers directly.
Let’s not waste time here, let’s get healthy
The most amazing exercise-Walking
So walking is the most amazing exercise. Were you expecting that? I guess you were thinking I will promote some high intensity workout that can help you burn extra calories. But I want to discuss how amazing walking could be for you.
Walking is a great low intensity exercise, it’s great for people who never went to the gym (and not planing to), it’s great for people who want to start but don’t know how, and certainly, it’s great for those who wants to avoid any injury while trying something outrageous.
But, just because it’s low intensity, doesn’t make it low impact. Walking is a powerful exercise and if done regularly, it can show positive results towards heart health, lungs, brain, mental health, diabetes, blood pressure and more.
Walking as exercise
To use walking as an exercise, we need to follow certain things. I know most of the people do walk a lot, but some additional things can increase the benefits we can get from it.
First, you need to understand how much time can you give. Numerous studies suggest that a duration of 10 to 70 minutes can be beneficial. We also need to see at what time are we walking. For example, walking in the morning has different effects on the body compared to walking after dinner.
Research suggests that walking increases creative output by 80%. An early morning walk in nature is good for giving you some ideas.
For beginners who never saw walking as an exercise and are new to any kind of routine, 10 mins of morning walk is more than enough. Some research suggest that people who walk 10 mins a day in the morning are 43% less likely to get sick and even if they get sick they will have milder symptoms.
Similarly, an early morning walk improves metabolism and helps in keeping the heart healthy. While walking after the dinner, helps in good sleep and improves digestion. However, if you walk throughout the day and sit less, then walking can even help you lose weight.
By walking for just 10 minutes, you can burn 50 calories. But, that will depend on the number of steps per minute, your walking pace, other factors like your body weight, etc.
Some people think that to lose weight they need intense cardio or rigorous training session, but this cost effective method can help you lose weight smoothly.
Every step matter
How much you are walking is also very important. There are various studies that say daily 10,000 steps is essential. 10,000 steps are linked to 50% reduced risk of dementia of and let’s not ignore that it can help in weight loss as well. However, 10,000 steps is not for everyone.
We should not ignore the fact that even 7000 steps or 4000 steps can be beneficial to our health. Like even 4000 steps is linked to longevity. So no matter how much or how less are you walking, you are getting something out of it.
Even how long you walk will also mean something, like 12 mins walk according to the Iowa state university can be a great mood booster. Studies have shown that stress hormone are significantly reduced just after 20 mins of walk and this could lead to better mood.
But, again that’s just a number, as I said anything from 10 to 70 mins could be beneficial.
Walking vs other forms of exercise
I need to stress this a bit more that walking could be way easier and relaxing than other forms of exercises. Like this is something we are doing since we were 1 year old (even younger in many cases), this is not extreme and this is very easy to get into.
When you join gym, or yoga classes or dance classes, you need to learn that thing first in order to perform it, while walking is something you already know.
Other forms of exercise could be injury prone, like if you don’t work out at gym properly, you may injure yourself. Or you may need additional equipments like cycling requires a cycle.
So walking becomes easy to do and a favorite as it is less stressful, and more convenient.
Walking can also be used as a recovery from other forms of exercise. Walking enhance blood flow, improves recovery and help in muscle soreness (a little bit).
Important things to remember
I am suggesting walking as an exercise, and you have read above how useful it could be. But, we need to remember few things before using it as workout.
⇾ First, make sure your shoes are proper for walking, It should not be too loose, too tight. It should be appropriate for walking/running. A formal shoes won’t do; sandals/slippers could hurt heels after a long walk. So make sure you invest in good quality shoes.
Bare foot walking will allow you to absorb energy from earth more properly. It even improves eyesight if done early morning on grass.
⇾ Before and after walking, we need to stretch, like we should do after every workout routine. Before walking, give time to dynamic stretching that could include swinging of arms, shoulder rotation, leg swing. After a walk, stretch your back with cobra pose, child pose. Do some quad stretch, hamstring stretch, etc.
A warm-up routine, can get the blood flowing, prepare the muscle and circulate oxygen, while a cool down routine will make muscles relaxed and even protect bones.
⇾ Movement of arms matters too. Each of the arms should be in motion to opposite legs. The movement should not be too much. It should be natural. Shoulder should not be loose.
You can test by yourself, how effectivity you can walk with the help of arm swinging and locked arms.
⇾ Hydration during and after the walk is essential too. If you are walking for 10 mins, you may not need to drink water, however if you are walking for more than an hour or brisk walking, you may need to hydrate.
Honestly, I’m no expert at this, but the straight thing is you will not get dehydrated immediately as walking is not that demanding like a HIIT session or running.
-> Beginners need not strain themselves with walking as exercise, they can just march at one place, then slowly add distance and time to it.
Even you can walk throughout the day, that will keep you active, and I personally feel that walking has improved my backache from full day sitting.
Walking an interactive activity
So this is where the fun begins. You must be thinking that you can just read it and drop comments, nah nah, I want more from you. I want you to participate in the walking challenge. In this, you need to walk 5000 steps a day and track them for a week. So that’s 35000 steps a week, it’s up to you, how you do it.
I will be mentioning some blogger, and you are supposed to walk 5000 steps a day, if you are already doing that much, then great, still track it for me. Then write a separate blog post about how you feel. This will earn you a great physical and mental health (and me a free shoutout).
I want to nominate (not in order of likability):
Pooja G- Lifesfinestblogger
Rebecca Cuningham- Hola!!
Milena Alien- The strict teacher
Vanya Wryter Consulting- The lovely writer
Cindy Georgakas- The newest granny in town
Destiny- Prompt queen
Ranjana- Strong and fit
Roksana Amelia- Hashi khushi
Brenda H – Curious at castle and drinks coffee
EEE- Charizard
Dawn- Coffee in the morning
Michele Lee- Sweet voice
Now that you can see your name, you cannot ignore. For those who ignore this, I’ll spam their comment box for a month.
Here’s your homework. Please fill it and submit it after a week (Start from the next day you read this post)
We can see how beneficial walking can be. It’s a great workout for all ages and suitable for various people.
In the comments, tell me if you are willing to use walking as exercise and if you are already doing it, can you level it up?
Until next time, keep smiling.
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