How You Could Get In Better Shape With A Low Impact Walking Workout Program

Many people avoid exercise as they think that it would, of necessity, be too strenuous for them. Some people may have minor injuries or illnesses. Some may simply feel too unfit or unwell to workout. There will be quite a few who are a little self conscious about their body shape and avoid exercise on that basis .

If you fall into any of those categories then it’s probably worth considering that you don’t need to embark upon an exercise regime appropriate to a professional athlete in order to get health benefits and to lose weight. For many people, getting fit conjures up images of numerous trips to the gym each week, all of which involve getting hot sweaty and out of breath. It does sound like a lot of time and effort is needed – which might be why a lot of people avoid it, thereby missing out on the available health benefits.

You can just as easily choose a low intensity, low impact workout technique which will provide you with a whole host of potential health benefits, raise your energy levels and help you to lose weight. Should you wish to graduate to a higher intensity exercise form later then that’s great – but only if you want to.

Walking is, for a great many people, the ideal exercise format. It’s suitable for all ages, doesn’t need any special training or equipment and can be slotted into your day whenever it’s most convenient for you . It would be easy to dismiss walking as a way of taking exercise – but the health benefits read like a publicity campaign for some new wonder drug.

Walking can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. It can help to bring your cholesterol level down. It improves the efficiency of both the heart and lungs. It helps to build both bone density and muscle tone. It can help to combat anxiety and depression. You will have more energy and feel less tired during the day. It can lower the probability of contracting certain forms of cancer. Research carried out in the UK suggests that walking just miles each week can help to fight off senile dementia. On a more mundane, but nevertheless desirable level, walking can certainly help you to lose weight and get in shape.

It’s a very impressive list of potential benefits. Taking Your walking exercise on a regular and consistent basis is the key to success. According to health and fitness professionals, taking 10,000 steps a day is what’s required in order to achieve all the health benefits of walking. That’s equivalent to somewhere between four and a half and five miles for the average person. It certainly sounds like a long way – but it’s probably easier to achieve than you might imagine.

Don’t forget that the 10,000 step target is total steps each day – it includes all the walking that you normally do anyway. Don’t think that you have to achieve this in one go. You can build up gradually from your normal number of daily steps. Someone who commute by car, bus or rail, and who has a sedentary office job, may well have a step count as low as 2,000 steps each day. A cheap pedometer will allow you to establish how many steps you take each day. Knowing what your daily step count is will help to keep you motivated. If you find that it motivates you more, modern digital pedometers can usually display your results either in terms of total distance covered or the total number of calories used up.

There are any number of ways to increase the amount that you walk each day. If you commute by bus, get off one or two stops before your destination and finish your journey on foot. Use the stairs instead of taking the elevator. When you’re talking on your mobile, walk around. Instead of sitting in front of your computer, go for a short ten or ffifteen minute walk at lunch time. When you do use your car, park it in a corner of the parking lot so that you to walk nore to reach the entrance. It quickly adds up.

And there’s absolutely no need for walking to be tedious. Make walking more sociable by doing it in the company of family and friends. Set your route so that it takes in local points of interest. Get yourself an mp3 player so that you can listen to your favourite music as you walk along. The time and the miles will simply fly by.

Make the most of recent advances in fitness footwear technology by wearing a pair of toning shoes. Skechers Shape Ups and Fit Flops sandals are just a couple of examples of this new style of exercise shoe which incorporates a specially shaped sole which makes the muscles in your lower body do a little extra work whilst walking. When you’re just starting off, any pair of comfortable shoes should be sufficient though.

If you have any medical conditions, if you are over forty years of age, or if you just haven’t exercised for a while, then it would be a good idea to seek your Doctor’s advice before you commence any new exercise regime. In comparison with other exercise modes, walking has a very low risk of injury associated with it. Be sensible and start off slowly, building up only when you feel comfortable to do so. Little and often is very good advice. Walk just a little further and a little more often on a regular and consistent basis and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you can both see and feel the benefits.

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