Posted on May 09, 2018 by Josh Puttock
In this week’s blog, I will be talking about the benefits of walking. I personally find this to be a very interesting topic, as a lot of people aren’t actually aware that walking can be a very beneficial form of physical activity. And the beauty of it is that, well, most of us do it!
I’m pretty sure that everybody reading this is quite familiar with the concept of walking, but how could it be beneficial for your health? Walking is a cardiovascular activity just like running, swimming, cycling, rowing and skipping – it’s just at a lower intensity. It does however still encourage your body to burn fat, as that is the primary fuel our body will be using during any low intensity cardiovascular activity.
By walking you’re actively burning fat away from your body, which means it’s one of the most effective low-impact exercises for reducing body fat weight. Walking also improves the day-to-day bodily functions in different ways to the above-mentioned weight loss. Due to increased metabolism, regular walking will also help your digestive system to normalise itself and it will also reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
Regular walking also has a positive effect on an individual psychologically, just like any other exercise, as it will calm your mind, especially after a rough day. As you can see, walking entails a lot of benefits and it’s also very easy to implement regular walking into your lifestyle. I’ve had quite a few PT clients who easily managed to include more walking as a way to increase their physical activity, mainly by reducing car and public transport usage during their commute or including this as an extra activity into their day.
30 minutes per day
The recommended amount is a minimum of 30 minutes of walking every day, and for some people that is just the travel from or to work. You can also make walking a social event by sharing the activity with another person, so feel free to bring a colleague or friend with you if that might make it more encouraging.
I hope this blog will push you to step up your walking game if you’re not yet doing your minimum 30 minutes a day. If you’re already hitting the 30-minute mark and there’s still room for some more walking time during the day, make sure you don’t waste it sitting around in front of the TV. Remember that you can also involve your family and friends and share the wonders of walking with them!
By Filip Kozlowski, Gym & Spa Supervisor