I am not surprised how popular walking has become as a fitness craze, personally you wouldn’t catch me eyeing this if I was planning on losing about 20 kilos or 44 pounds within a six month period. There is probably someone out there who can come up with a routine and diet to make that happen but let’s be realistic. While walking does have its benefits and I encourage everyone to get as many steps as they can a day. I wouldn’t come here and say you need to walk, you’ll lose weight! Okay well, walking can actually make an impact on weight management but I would encourage you all to get an intense fitness activity that you can stick to for overall health. This can be running, swimming, jogging, weight lifting or anything that you can think about, as long as it gets your body seriously active.
Now I didn’t come here to talk down on walking but to encourage it a little bit more just like everyone is. So grab your steps tracker watch and start counting your steps as we get into Its benefits;
- Reduces stress
I have a feeling this only works because you’re wondering when you can reach home and finally stop walking, making you lose focus on your main problems. Plus, there’s an addition of exercise-induced endorphins released which leave you feeling better by helping to improve your mood. There has to be a more scientific approach than I have but in case of bothering finding out what that is, you’ll be better off knowing that walking reduces stress. - Maintains a healthy weight
Regular walking can help you maintain a healthy weight, burn calories and help tone and strengthen your muscles. Though if you’re a regular gym goer this will not be so noticeable since your bloody is used to more intense workouts, unless you plan on walking for a 100 miles a day in order to feel the actual burn. - Discover new places
Explore your local area by foot and discover somewhere new you didn’t even realise was there. This is mainly because you’re moving at a slower pace and you have the time to notice almost everything around. You can use this to find new hangout places around you in case you do not like moving so far to get a nice place to relax. - Saves money
In case you don’t have the money to blow buying fuel just to go buy something that’s not that far. 1 kilometre or mile won’t ever seem far enough to make you hop into your car at any one point. All you have to do is just think of it as a healthy approach to living your life, then just add on planetary conservation because that makes everything sound better. - Walk and talk
I’ve met people who love doing this and personally I’ve tried it too, all you need to know is not for everyone but it’s at least a good way to get in your steps without feeling bored. Just grab your phone and maybe a set of ear buds and get lost in a call as you walk. - Lowers blood pressure
Being more active can help to lower blood pressure and control high blood pressure because of its physicality. This helps to lower your risk of heart problems in the future. Plus the reducing stress factor of walking also plays a part in lowering blood pressure. - Increases energy levels
I am not sure how many people get this feeling of sitting all day makes them weak and sluggish, but keeping active by walking can mitigate this feeling and boost your energy helping you feel less tired. - Improves sleep
Adding more physical activity to your day can help improve the quality of your sleep because you’ll be more exhausted than if you were just sitting around, meaning you feel more rested in the morning after having a longer sleep. Just don’t exercise vigorously walk too close to bedtime, as this might keep you awake. - Saves the planet
Welcome to the most powerful things a walk can do, You can save the planet just by walking and do your bit for climate change by choosing to ditch the car or train. This reduces on carbon emissions but realistically it needs thousands, maybe even millions of people to actually change something but starts with you though.
Now these are just a few things taking a walk can actually do. You need to be far open minded to actually appreciate what it can truly do for you and the environment. Even though you don’t care about the environment I’d still want you to consider walking more for your overall health. It’s one of the things that people have really fallen short on in this century and they are losing the appreciation for the small things in their lives. Mobility is a gift you can’t take for granted and it’s really helpful knowing how much your body can actually do without needed assistance or feeling exhausted from just doing simple tasks.
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