Walking
If you saw a bottle of pills on the supermarket shelf that promised to strengthen your heart, manage your weight and boost your spirits, you would surely dismiss it as snake oil. But walking does this!
It has so many health benefits, it reduces the risk of heart attack, of hip fracture and glaucoma. It improves your body’s ability to process sugar and keeps your blood levels on an even keel. You don’t need a prescription, and better still, it’s free.
Walking is simple, natural, and doesn’t cost a cent. If you haven’t been active for a while, it’s a gentle low-impact exercise to ease you into a higher level of fitness and health.
I’m a walker. The time came when I had to seriously take up some form of exercise to counter balance my spreading middle, an exercise that didn’t require me to part with large amounts of money for equipment, gym fees or special clothing. I invested in a medium priced pair of walking shoes and took my first walk - out my front gate, up to the corner and back. My first daily fitness walk lasted a good five minutes.
Walking benefits my heart so it can pump more blood around with less effort, it lowers my blood pressure and reduces my risk of developing type 2 diabetes by improving glucose tolerance. Walking burns calories helping me manage my weight and keeps my bones strong. As if this isn’t enough, walking, like any other regular physical activity, reduces the feelings of depression and anxiety. I’m staying strong and active too. I want to maintain my independence into my nineties. And so should you.
Set a plan for yourself, make a definite time to walk. Start slowly and walk only as far as you can in comfort, walk in short sessions of three to five minutes and slowly build up to 15 minutes twice a week. Gradually over several weeks you can work your way up to 30 minutes of walking four days a week.
If you can only walk for a couple of minutes and then you need to rest, then stop and rest. Don’t overdo it, especially on your first walk. Always start out walking slowly, you have to let your muscles warm up - and this includes your heart. Why not massage some fragrant oil into your legs? Gently roll your shoulders forward and back before you begin to really stride out and always slow down for the last couple of minutes.
Do you walk?
