Just like a cup of tea, nothing a walk can’t fix. Are you having a terrible day? Get outside and go for a stroll. If you’re having writer’s block, take a walk to clear your thoughts. Is it that time of the month when your cramps are so bad that you can’t get your exercise in? Go for a walk around the neighborhood. Walking is an underrated activity that benefits your body greatly. It does not necessitate any specific training, equipment, or an advanced level in your fitness journey. To get started, all you need is a decent pair of walking shoes and possibly some music. The good news is that you can walk anywhere, including your office. Walking every day has numerous health benefits, regardless of whether your primary aim is to burn calories or stay fit. Walking aids digestion after meals, maintains your mental health, and strengthens the condition of your joints and bones. Let’s look at the many health benefits of walking every day and why you should include it in your daily routine.
Is walking good for you? 8 health benefits of walking every day.
Walking is good for everyone, regardless of age. Why? Read on.
1. Maintains a healthy weight.
Apart from going to the gym every day, including walks in between your day is a game changer for you to be more active and burn calories, especially if your profession requires you to be seated at a desk from morning to evening. Walking is an aerobic activity, which results in fat loss. The number of calories you burn from walking may vary on your pace, duration, and distance. Stay with me; I’ll go over this in more detail later.
2. Stimulate proper digestion.
As someone who suffers from bloating, taking a 5–10-minute walk after consuming my meals has been quite helpful to me. Based on research, walking right away after a meal is more advantageous for weight loss than waiting an hour. This is because walking stimulates the gut and intestines, causing food to pass through more rapidly.
3. Reduces anxiety.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I feel anxious, I either grab my dumbbells to work out or take a walk in nature. Every time we move, our bodies produce chemicals that are helpful to the brain and body as a whole. Heard of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis? It is found in the central nervous system which is responsible for energy metabolism, stress reactions, and cognitive function. Walking, according to research, helps soothe your nerves, making you feel less stressed.
4. Enhances sleep quality.
If you have trouble sleeping, please include walking in your everyday routine. As previously stated, it soothes you, promoting healthy slumber. Walking also causes exhaustion, which leads to a good night’s sleep.
5. It eases discomfort in the joints.
Walking, unlike some exercises such as jumping and sprinting, is gentle on the joints and thus avoids knee pain. According to a recent study, going for a walk can help lessen and prevent knee pain caused by osteoarthritis. The research was conducted on 50-year-old people with osteoarthritis, and the conclusion was that walking for fitness should be advocated for people with OA since it is a disease-modifying exercise.
6. Improves your respiratory system.
Walking is a cardiorespiratory exercise activity. It helps the health of your heart and lungs. When you exercise, your muscles work harder, which causes the human body to use more oxygen and create more carbon dioxide. Your lungs are in charge of getting oxygen into your body to provide energy, whereas your heart is in charge of pumping oxygen into your muscles. For your respiratory system to meet this requirement during exercise, your breathing rate increases, resulting in faster circulation of oxygen to the muscle. Walking, in other terms, strengthens your breathing organs.
7. Manages diabetes.
Diabetes is a condition that happens when the amount of glucose in the blood becomes too high. Glucose is the body’s primary energy source, which originates from the food we ingest. Glucose from our food enters our cells with the help of insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas. When the body does not make enough insulin, less glucose is transported into the cells, and the person becomes diabetic. According to research, walking increases the effectiveness of insulin, lowering blood glucose levels.
8. Enhances your immunity.
Did you know that walking every day can help your body produce more white blood cells? White blood cells are in charge of combating illnesses and infections in the body. If you get a cold from time to time, you now know what to do. The more you move, the better your body will be able to battle certain diseases!
How many calories are burned from walking every day?
If you’re looking for a straight answer, an average adult burns 100 calories per 1.6 km, which is equivalent to 1 mile. However, as previously stated, this is determined by several factors including your walking speed, time, body weight, and distance. When it comes to pace, a fast stroll burns more calories than brisk walking.
Use this calculator to get the specific calories burned based on your weight, duration, and activity you performed. Most online “calories burned calculators” use the following formula to provide an accurate estimate of calories burned: MET x weight in kilograms equals calories/hour. The intensity of the activity is defined as MET. Please keep in mind that not all fitness trackers provide reliable data.
Tips you need to know before taking a walk for your exercise.
1. Your posture is really important to avoid any injuries.
- Your head should be up and looking straight ahead.
- Your core should be engaged.
- Your feet form should be heel to toe.
- Refrain from bending backwards or forward (you can lean slightly forward, particularly when walking uphill).
- Relax your shoulders and freely move your arms.
2. Your footwear matters.
This is how you choose the proper shoes for walking
- Foot arch. Foot arches come in three distinct varieties. 1. A person with a flat arch requires a motion-control shoe because their feet are not rigid and frequently move a lot as they walk, putting stress on their ligaments. 2. A high arch: Because they have rigid feet, this person needs shoes that help with excellent shock absorption when they walk. They require footwear with superb cushioning. 3. A person with a normal arch has feet that are halfway filled in the center. He or she requires stable footwear with a solid midsole.
- Comfort. This is crucial. You don’t want to develop any blisters or have to stop walking in shoes altogether because yours continues coming off!
3. Warm-up and cool-down are essential to prevent any injuries.
- Warming up improves blood flow and temperature in your joints and muscles, reducing the risk of injury during exercise. Warming up with dynamic exercises is ideal. Dynamic stretches necessitate certain movements before your exercises that stretch muscles to their maximum range of motion. They can frequently mimic the actual exercise(s) to be done, though at a slower pace or with fewer repetitions. In this instance, if you’re going for a walk, your warm-up could consist of ankle circles, calf raises, or a 5-minute slow-paced walk followed by a fast-paced walk.
- After a strenuous exercise, cool-down stretches or exercises are done to return your body temperature, heart rate, and pulses to normal. In this instance, your cool down would consist of slowing down from a fast-paced walk in the final 5 minutes or performing static stretches.
How to build walking everyday in your routine.
Given that you now understand the beneficial health benefits of walking but are unsure how to fit it into your routine or would like to increase your daily step count, the following solutions may be of assistance to you.
1. Join a walking club.
A walking club is made up of a group of people who gather regularly to walk together. They walk in various terrains or locations depending on what they agree on. This is an excellent method to incorporate walking because you will have a community to encourage and support you.
2. Find a walking buddy.
If you are unable to join a walking group, there is some good news! Invite a buddy to accompany you on your walks. Plan how many days you’ll walk, which paths you’ll take, and so on.
3. Walk with your pet.
I have a very energetic dog who loves spending time outside. When she’s around, it’s nearly impossible for me to be out of shape. If it is difficult for you to walk alone, bring your pet with you, or even play with the dog in your compound, those steps still serve as a walk! The objective is to get your body moving!
4. Park your car/bike a little further away.
Whenever you go shopping, to work, or to school, park your car somewhere you can walk 5-10 minutes to your destination.
5. Take the stairs rather than the elevator.
It’s greatly underrated to take the stairs instead of the lift. You’ll be amazed at how this boosts your daily step count and builds strength.
6. Take a walk during your work break.
When you have a pause from work, get some fresh air by going outside for even five minutes. Your intellect will benefit from this as well. As a result, you’ll be able to focus better and be more creative. Even short walks like this count!
I hope this article makes you want to grab your sneakers and get moving! You’ve seen the numerous advantages of walking every day and how simple it is to incorporate walking into your daily regimen. It doesn’t matter how you incorporate walking into your daily routine; what counts is that you do it by the end of the day! Remember that everything begins in your mind. Your mindset is extremely important! Happy walking!
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