Discussion & list on the benefits of a walking exercise program for health & fitness follows.
We also include links to our other pages on walking topics including contrast to running, walking programs, equipment including walking shoes, calories burned, etc. (Pages may be under construction but read on for valuable info & complete list of the benefits of walking)
Walking for health is the master exercise.
But it’s really not an “exercise.“ It is, in fact, the only truly natural physical activity that humans seem to be designed to carry out.
Other physical activities are simply add-ons, like sports or are activities we are only meant to do sporadically, like lifting a heavy weight.
Little surprise that walking for fitness offers more health benefits & fewest side effects than any other exercise.
Look through our pages & invariably, we assert walking exercise is best for any number of conditions because it tends to be moderate, doable over long periods of time. Also, you can do it daily with little stress or discomfort.
Using walking as exercise also has the advantage of being easy to measure & control. Walk a little more or less, a little faster or slower, 3,4, 5, 6 or all 7 week days. Up to you.
I think walking exercise is the better than any other because I can easily think or pipe in audio reading materials on my walk. How many exercises offer the benefit of allowing you to engage in some other constructive activity while exercising?
Ok. I believe walking is the best exercise but I must add that, if at all possible, it should be part of a program that includes activities that engage the upper body, strengthen muscles, bones & joints & increase flexibility. So, mix it up even if walking is the centerpiece of your exercise program.
Big list of benefits walking
*The benefits of walking exercise include preventing or curing many diseases. However, many of the benefits are really side effects of some of other the main benefits. Like weight loss.
*Managing your weight. Combined with healthy eating, walking is a great exercise for losing weight. Adding walking to any exercise program will teach your body to burn fat.
Especially effective is walking 2x daily, 5 - 7 days per week.
*Walking is the best exercise for diabetics because it lowers risk of type 2 diabetes.
*Walk for health, slash risk of heart disease & decrease your risk of heart attack. Exercise such as brisk walking for three hours a week — or just half an hour a day — is associated with a 30% to 40% lower risk of heart disease in women. (Based on the 20-year Nurses' Health Study of 72,000 female nurses.)
*Walking for fitness will lower your risk of stroke. Brisk walking for an hour a day, five days a week, can cut the risk of stroke in half, according to a Harvard study of more than 11,000 men.
*One of the benefits of walking is that it boosts "good" cholesterol – the level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL).
*Walking exercise programs help reduce "bad" cholesterol, which cause plaque buildup in artery walls, a major cause of heart attacks.
*One of the more important benefits of walking, it helps control blood pressure. Aerobic walking strengthens the heart so it can pump more blood with less effort & with less pressure on the arteries. Fitness is just as effective as some medications in keeping down blood pressure levels. Essentially, walking is the best exercise for cardiovascular health.
*A walking exercise program may reduce cancer risk. A study published in the Sept. 10, 2003 Journal of the American Medical Association found that women who walked briskly for 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week had an 18% reduction breast cancer risk. Research has also shown walking is the best exercise for reducing risk of colon cancer.
*Get fit through walking & strengthen your immune system in the process.
*Walking relieves sleep apnea.
*Throw some walking exercise into any program reduces risk & effects of osteoarthritis.
*Osteoporosis is another casualty of walking for health
*Relieves arthritis and back pain, perhaps superior to other exercises because walking is less stressful than other popular exercises.
*Benefits of walking extend to avoiding need for gallstone surgery. Regular walking or other physical activity lowers the risk of needing gallstone surgery by 20% to 31%, according to a Harvard study of more than 60,000 women ages 40 to 65.
*Boost fitness thru walking protects against hip fracture. Consistent activity reduces risk of hip fracture, concludes a study of more than 30,000 men and women ages 20 to 93.
*A 2005 study concludes increased aerobic fitness for both high intensity walking & low intensity, high frequency walking.
*Walking is the best exercise for many goals because it boosts metabolism.
*Walking reduces risk of & effects of constipation.
*Why don’t more health care pros prescribe walking to help with impotence?
*Walking for health reduces risk of all kinds of infection.
*Walking reduces the risks of developing glaucoma, according to research studies.
*Walking for fitness of the mind: helps prevent & relieve depression. Walking for 30 minutes, three to five times per week for 12 weeks reduced symptoms of depression.
*Walking exercise the best activity for lowering stress levels.
*Walking helps elevate mood, sense of well-being & self-esteem.
*Maybe a walking exercise program wont turn you into Einstein but it is good for your brain. In a study on walking and thinking, researchers found that women who walked at least 1.5 hours per week, at an easy pace, had much better cognitive function and less cognitive decline than women who walked less than 40 minutes per week.
*Walking improves sleep.
*Many of the above benefits from walking are interconnected so no surprise walking lengthen lifespan.
*Finally, walking exercise is superior to other activities because with all of its benefits, it doesn’t pose the same risks for injury & burnout that many other exercises do. I love playing basketball & running, but for all their health benefits, both activities can be murder on joints. Not walking.
If you need some help to get you on track or just need great fitness & sporting supplies, please visit our partners for more info & the deepest discounts on name brand stuff.
Give Tony Little 28 days to transform your body. His book - One-on-One with Tony Little guides you step by step.