Walking workout is good for your body The UK is largely populated with sedentary workers, we take less and less exercise. Yet one of the most simple forms is also the most effective - walking. There is evidence to suggest that regular brisk walks could be as good for us, if not better, than strenuous jogging. What does walking do to your body? Regular walking, like most aerobic activities, is great for you because cardio-vascular exercise strengthens the heart and lungs, overall increasing fitness. Together with healthy diet and other exercise plans, it can also help with weight loss and tone up muscles A sports science lecturer at the University of Exeter is a firm believer in the benefits of walking, and said: ‘It can improve muscle endurance as well as muscle strength, especially in the lower body. ‘It is also good for bones and improves the body’s cardiovascular system. It also helps boost circulation. Power-walking - keeping a brisk pace at moderate to high intensity - can burn the same amount of calories as running or jogging. So it is very useful for helping with weight loss ‘Because it is low impact, it does not have the same potential for injury as jogging or running. Yet it can offer all the benefits.’ 4
Walking helps to drain the lower legs of excess fluid and can help prevent varicose veins through the pumping action of the calf muscles. The increased supply of oxygen exercise promotes also gets rid of the waste products in the tissues. Because more people are able to walk at a consistent speed than run, it is a more beneficial form of tissue-cleansing, particularly for people over-50, As jogging can actually cause more problems.' Did you know walking is also better for the spine than running, as it puts less stress on the discs. As we are designed for constant movement, not sitting in cars or in front of computers, which causes negative pressures on our spinal cord. Regular walking is excellent for spinal discs, which receive minerals and vitamins through the pumping action it causes. The best thing is that you can see results from walking very quickly - although it depends on each person's individual level of fitness, age and how often and fast they are walking. What does it do to your feet? The main players in regular walking are, of course, your feet. And we don’t use them in the best way. Our feet were made for walking about. And that’s exactly what they should do as It’s the best way of exercising the 50-odd muscles we have in our feet.
