Daily walking benefits

The forgotten love

Walking; it is an action so normal that everybody seems to have forgotten it. Many people avoid walking and prefer to drive or be driven. Or, walking has become an exercise, something to do when you are training, and something for the selected, dedicated few. True enough, technically, it is an exercise, but you do not need to have a plan or go to 'sporty' mode to walk. Walk anywhere, everywhere, and whenever you can. Have you forgotten how easy it is? Skip a few bus stops. Leave the elevator be. Walk to the grocery, or to the mall. It takes longer to walk somewhere than to drive, but are there benefits?

Benefits of walking

First thing that happens when your muscles begin to work is that they need more oxygen. Your heart will need to pump it up a bit to get oxygen where it is needed. Well, that's heart exercise, right? In time, your heart muscle will optimize for higher performance, become stronger and pump more blood with less beats. Risk of heart disease in people who walk as little as two miles every day (it does not need to be a single walk) is 40% lower than in people that tend to walk only when there is no other way. Bones are continuously stressed by low-intensity force while walking.

This kind of stress makes them rebuild themselves to be stronger and more elastic. This is of particular importance to women over forty years of age, who are at risk of bone loss and osteoporosis. Are you a bit on the heavy side? Burn extra calories by plain walking and maintain a healthy diet, you will shed pounds quicker than people who get no training. Regular walking habits also help in controlling diabetes - your muscles will take control of your metabolism.

Feel a bit nervous, anxious and tense? Take a walk. It helps to reduce stress and improve mood. It is also a confidence boost - you are doing something that most people think is hard and you are actually building some muscle while doing it.

Finally, walking can decrease risk of getting cancer. Study results have shown that people who walk two or more miles a day are at 60% less risk of dying from cancer than people who walk a mile or less every day. Sounds almost like a miracle cure? And must people have forgotten the recipe.