WALKING FOR HEALTH
WALKING FOR HEALTH
Is walking just as healthy as running? It’s actually better for you, and here’s why; Walking provides all the advantages as running does, strengthening your muscles, circulation, immune system and your body’s ability to breakdown harmful blood fats and stress hormones without the risks to your joints. Research has shown that brisk walking can also help cut down diabetes by a quarter. But will walking burn fat? Without a doubt it will, the most effective exercises are the ones that usually last a long time, at least 30 minutes at mi-level intensity. Because a 30 minute walk is easier to keep up than a 30-minute run, beginner walkers lose even more fat than newbie joggers.
To build up your walking intensity, steadily increase the amount of time you walk, for example; from 15 minutes (the bottom limit) to 25 minutes. Then increase the number of your walks from doing 25 minutes three times a week, ramp it up to two 20 minute walks and two 40-minute walks per week. Finally, increase your pace. First, include faster paces of 60-90 seconds, followed by equal length intervals at a slower pace. Allow the exertion during faster periods to get so high that you can only do two steps per breath.
These intervals are key: They are scientifically proven methods for upping your calorie and fat burns. In time, you may want to start jogging, and when you try that higher gear, make sure to follow the fundamentals of proper running form found below.
RUNNING FUNDAMENTALS
- Keep your eyes focused on the ground 10 yards ahead of you
- Pull in your chin and stretch your neck up
- Lift your chest
- Lower you shoulders slightly and pull them back a little
- Pull in your belly and tighten it a little
- Cock your upper and lower arms at a fairly sharp angle
- Hold your hands in loose fists
- Move your elbows parallel with and close to your body
- Land lightly between heel and mid-foot
- Plant your feet beneath your hips.
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