Benefits of Walking: Exercise For Your Fitness

Walking is not only a great exercise for maintaining health its also one of the best exercises to help control weight. Many people trying to lose weight often perform an exercise they believe burns more calories and wonder why after a few weeks they hardly see any results. Permanent fat loss will take time, even though calories do count its not just about burning as many calories as possible, especially during the beginning stages of weight loss.

Every person has two doctors with him… his right leg & his left leg. A vigorous 5 mile walk can do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy man than any medicine or psychology. it is the easiest exercise for most individuals, one that can done without equipment except good shoes, in most terrains & weather & also in very old age.

Experts agree that physical activity is one of the cornerstones for good health, and walking is one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to be physically active. All you need is a good pair of shoes, and you can do it almost anywhere and at any time.

Benefits of Walking for Weight Loss:

Based on research studies, walking on a regular basis has the following health benefits:

1. Weight loss by walking! A great way to control your weight. You daily walking actually burns calories and you feel the difference. Those calories burned walking actually increase as your walking distance and speed increases. You gain a new sense of energy. It’s the start of your walking journey to be the best you can be!
2. Calf muscles are man’s second heart. On walking, these muscles pump the blood to the heart with all force. This leads to greater heart exercise, increased oxygen requirement & better blood circulation.
3. The increased oxygen requirements lead to exercise for the heart. On a long term basis, it leads to a better circulation for the heart. Thus it reduces the chances of a heart attack.
4. It helps you beat breast cancer. Women who walk regularly after being diagnosed with breast cancer have a 45 percent greater chance of survival than those who are inactive, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Yale researchers heading up the study also found that those who exercised in the year before being diagnosed were 30 percent more likely to survive, compared to women who didn’t exercise leading up to their diagnosis.
5. Need more reasons? When you walk, you reduce your blood pressure and improve your cardiovascular functions. Heart health is huge in enjoying a healthier lifestyle. That alone makes it worth getting back out there doesn’t it?
6. When you walk, it has a positive impact on your weight and age-related illnesses. It helps build muscle strength and endurance and maintain healthier bones and joints. Result? Fewer aches and pain.
7. Research shows that walking improves fitness and physical function and prevents physical disability in older persons. The list goes on, but if I continued, thered be no time for you to start walking! Suffice to say that walking is certainly good for you!
8. Research shows that postmenopausal women who walk approximately one mile each day have higher whole-body bone density than women who walk shorter distances, and walking is also effective in slowing the rate of bone loss from the legs.
9. Off the couch and well on your way to adding the fun back into your life. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
10. And your renewed energy gives you the urge (and ability) to start doing more outdoor activities with your family and friends. Maybe your grand kids.
11. More benefits of walking! Your stress level is diminished and…you’ve slowed down the aging process. You leave the extra baggage in the ‘caboose’ behind! Very sweet indeed!
12. Just think. You can leave that couch behind, get great exercise, improve your health and fitness…and start to feel great again. The benefits of walking are all for free! Just by putting one foot in front of another. As some of the young ‘uns say these days-’How good a deal is that!
13. It can save your mind. Italian researchers enlisted 749 people suffering from memory problems in a study and measured their walking and other moderate activities, such as yard work. At the four-year follow-up, they found that those who expended the most energy walking had a 27 percent lower risk of developing dementia than the people who expended the least. This could be the result of physical activity’s role in increasing blood flow to the brain.
14. Walking briskly for just 30 minutes, five days a week can significantly lower your risk of suffering a stroke, according to University of South Carolina researchers. After studying 46,000 men and 15,000 women over the course of 18 years, those with increased fitness levels associated with regular brisk walking had a 40 percent lower risk of suffering a stoke than those with the lowest fitness level.
15. Many studies have shown enormous psychological benefits of walking. It has been shown that daily walking habit reduces anxiety, tension & improves mood.