Stroll to Success

June 2019

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Coolant needs to be changed too. Not as often as your oil does, but still, you will need to change or "flush" the coolant in your car.


Stroll to Success
Health and Weight Loss Benefits of Walking

Walking often doesn’t get the attention and recognition it deserves, but this simple and natural exercise can go a long way to helping you improve your health and manage your weight.

Human beings are made to walk, and we don’t need any special skills or equipment to do it right. All you really need is the motivation to set aside a bit of time each day for taking a stroll outside or walking on the treadmill. Walking has been studied extensively and been found to have numerous beneficial effects on our bodies. Let’s take a look at what these benefits are.

Walking for Better Health

As a moderate form of exercise, walking provides all of the benefits and advantages of any type of physical activity. Even just a bit of extra walking every day cuts your risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. It will likewise help you develop stronger bones and muscles for increased strength and stamina. People who walk more report a higher quality of sleep and an improved mood as well.

By improving overall health, walking boosts the immune system and makes you better able to fend off cold and flu viruses. Research has also found that walking significantly reduces arthritis pain, particularly in the knees and hips, and that it can even prevent arthritis from developing. Putting in the initial effort to make your body healthier makes it easier to continue leading a healthy lifestyle.

Walking for Weight Loss

The numerous health benefits of walking are closely tied to the fact that it can be an effective exercise for weight loss and for maintaining a healthy weight. The average person will burn roughly 100 calories per 1.6 km of walking. This may not be as much as a high-intensity workout, but it certainly adds up if you commit to a consistent walking routine. In fact, people who take around 15,000 steps a day are more likely to have a BMI within the healthy range. Walking has also been found to reduce the effects of weight-promoting genes.

Walking Vs. Running

Running is often seen as the workout of choice if you want quick and effective results. However, there are many areas where walking clearly wins out. For one, running is a very high-impact activity that can be tough on the joints and is far more likely to lead to injury. More injuries mean more time spent off your feet and less time exercising. Running might also seem like a more time-efficient exercise, but if you factor in the warm-up, cool-down, change of clothes, and showering that it requires, then it might actually be faster to hop out for a brisk walk instead.

Building Your Walking Routine

Research has shown that walking for just half an hour a day, five days a week at a moderate intensity confers many of the important health benefits to be gained from the exercise. Of course, the further you go and the more briskly you walk, the more health and weight loss benefits you can enjoy. If you have the time, then try to walk for as long as 45 minutes or an hour. If you don’t, then focus on walking more quickly or walking uphill.

The best thing about walking is how easily it can be adapted to your goals and your lifestyle, as well as the fact that it can be combined with any number of different exercises. With the right motivation, you’ll have no trouble adding more steps to your daily routine.

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