By I have to mention exactly the same form of exercise everyone else is chipping in with. Walking has undoubtably helped me lose body fat as well as increase self-awareness and helps me calm myself down during stressful situations. Below are some benefits of walking that I’m sure others can appreciate:
- Can be done without injury or affecting weight training efforts
- Allows self-reflection time, which is great for generating ideas
- Helps solve any pressing issues that may be eating away at you, and gets you into some self-talking so that you can solve your problem
- Allows the time to zone out, listening to your favourite audio book and podcasts – perhaps even having a chat with a friend.
Although these are not really training based, they are very much a way to centre the mind, body and spirit – like a meditative state with many benefits for your whole body.
If you want to use walking as a weight and fat loss strategy, then think about altering the factors below to make it more worthwhile for you:
- Vary your walking speed – gather up a bit of a sweat
- Cover a longer and wider distance – perhaps think of hiking or even skipping public transport and walking to your destination
- Use different kinds of terrain – find some hills in a park, or some form of variety, other than flat surfaces.
- Add some weights to your workout. Perhaps a vest would be more suitable, so you don’t have to lug weights around.
Joint pain relief, as well as easing DOMS
Walking is very good for your joints, allowing them to strengthen in order to support the joints. You can also walk out your DOMS – as we tend to stiffen up and sit in the same position for hours on end. Walking allows us to lengthen our muscles and reducing the muscular aches and pains we experience as a result of training.
The best mood improver
I’m not sure about you, but I feel so much better after a nice long walk, especially when there is sunshine, trees and even some beautiful water. Take a brisk walk during your lunch break, or even get out for a cup of coffee – just to shake the cobwebs of the day.
Leg toner
Surprisingly, walking does provide you with the benefit of strengthening those legs. Don’t get me wrong, you still need some heavy resistance training – but walking does provide a good boost in leg strength and slight toning. This can be enhanced with the different levels of terrains you can power walk on.
Don’t dismiss the wonderful and less obvious benefits of walking. It’s proven time and time again to help those of all ages, from weight loss, through to harmony within. Perhaps change up your strategy in terms of training once in a while and throw in some walking sessions. See what it does for you both on the inside and outside.
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