It’s fun. It’s simple. It’s easy. And it’s free. So why not walk for fitness today?
Walking is perhaps the oldest and rawest form of exercise, and guess what: it’s still as effective as ever. You can access all the sophisticated equipment in your gym. You can sign up for workout sessions with a top fitness trainer. You may be involved in serious sports. Or you may not be doing anything at all (yet) for your physical fitness. Whether you’re super active or just starting to get up from a sedentary lifestyle, you can take up walking to complement or jump-start your path to fitness today.
Here are 4 more reasons why walking can improve your health:
Walking will help you lose weight. Your 30-minute daily walk allows you to burn around 103 calories per hour for a pace of 20 miles per minute, or 118 calories by speeding it up to 15 minutes per mile. You may use a treadmill at home or at the gym, but to keep things interesting, try to walk outdoors such as at the park or around the block.
Walking boost your overall physical well-being. You don’t have to punish yourself with high-intense, high-impact training (unless that’s your thing) to get fit. By simply doing 30 minutes of brisk walking daily, you can gain multiple health benefits such as improved cardiovascular health, reduced cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure. Walking also lowers your risk for diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers.
Walking is good for your mental acuity. Doing walks at least one day a week can maintain your memory and lower your dementia risk if you’re a senior adult. Walking for at least three times a week can make your brain “grow,” or prevent it from shrinking as what usually happens when you age.
Walking can make you feel happier. Walking boost your energy levels and lifts your mood. To truly enjoy its psychological benefits, try walking in nature as it can actually make direct changes to your brain, studies show. It doesn’t even have to be brisk; taking a stroll while brooding along the quiet, tree-lined path in your street can already make positive changes to how your brain functions.
Indeed, walking is good for your body, mind, body and soul. The best thing about it is that you don’t even need any fancy equipment or a special outfit to start walking. You can do it in the morning, during the cool afternoons, in the evening after work or as a pre-bedtime ritual, as long as you have a clean and safe space to do it.
To further boost the benefits of walking, get expert help and advice from top fitness services in Australia today.