Walking for Weight Loss, Exercise & Your Health

     Whether you need to shed five, ten or twenty pounds, you will never get a head start on your weight loss program if you feel like every form of exercise that you will do is a struggle on your part. For example, doing crunches to get rid of the paunch in your stomach is quite difficult to do ?so you might never really get around to doing it unless you have an iron-like will.

But what if the fitness exercises that you need to do requires very little effort ?but manages to work on almost every part of your body? This is exactly what walking is for. Here, we will take a look at the health benefits of walking, how you can use it as a primary ingredient for your weight loss program and what the do抯 and don抰s are when walking for weight loss.

Health Benefits of Walking

First, what are the benefits of walking? Think of it as a less tiring form of jogging. When you walk, not only will you be able to effortlessly shed off the excess pounds that you have, but you will experience a wide array of health benefits as well.

Those who are regular walkers have lower risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Walking is said to be a great solution to slow down the ageing process as it improves the circulation to your joints, massages your blood vessels, and maintain your muscle mass and metabolism as you age.

Walking is also a great stress reliever with its benefits to your mind and spirit. Whether you抮e at home or at work and you feel like the daily stress is about to creep up on you, taking a breather of a walk will work wonders.

Walking as a Primary Way of Losing Weight

As mentioned earlier, walking is probably the only type of 慹ffortless?exercise which allows you to work on almost every part of your body. This is because unlike running or kickboxing, for example, walking is a natural body movement. In the same vein, since walking seems to be an effortless exercise, more people tend to stick to it in the long run as compared to other forms of exercise.

Should you decide to use walking as a primary way of losing weight, it抯 much easier to combine your diet with this form of exercise ?a program which is bound to yield great results over time.

Top Tips when Walking for Weight Loss

So what are the things that you need to keep in mind if you want to use walking as a way to lose weight? Take a look at the following tips:

- Stick to the rule of prioritizing time over speed. When using walking as a primary factor in your weight loss program, you can do more when walking at a moderate pace. This way, you will not experience soreness and more miles are equivalent to more calories lost.

- Go for high-intensity walks on alternate days. This is a great way to condition your body when using walking as a main ingredient in your weight loss program.

- According to the American Heart Association, in order to condition your heart and lungs, walking should be performed at the proper intensity: 30 to 60 minutes at a time, at least three to four times a week.

- Make sure to wear athletic socks and shoes when walking, maintain good posture and the proper stride should be a pace where you are still able to easily carry conversation without getting breathless.

As you can see, there are a myriad of health and weight loss benefits from this form of exercise ?so start walking off those excess pounds today!

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