This week is Walk to School Week. There are many benefits to walking, and we should try incorporate it into our lives as much as possible.
Quite simply Walking is one of the simplest and safest forms of exercise and there are HUGE research proven benefits to it.
A brisk walk for only 20- 30 minutes a day can make a massive difference to your overall physical health and mental wellbeing. Research shows many positive benefits to anyone who walks regularly and it does not have to be far…and no dog is necessarily required!
Why walking?
Walking has been shown to be the closest thing to ‘a wonder drug’ and even better with the current cost of living; IT’S FREE!
It is low impact on your joints and gives as much cardio-vascular benefit as jogging.
Benefits of walking include
- Helping maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat (it even suppresses fat genes)
- Improves your cardio-vascular fitness
- Strengthens your bones and muscles (the body lays down bone in response to “stress” on them.. walking is a gentle form of stress and more calcium is deposited in the bones)
- Improves muscle endurance
- Use the time to clear your head of the “noise of day to day life”
- It has been shown to boost your immune system
- Reduces blood pressure / cholesterol and helps as part of your type 2 diabetes management
- Helps lower your bodies inflammatory levels
- Reduces cravings for those “sweeter” things in your diet
- Reduces the risk of breast cancer
- Aids digestion and promotes normal intestinal movement (unlike sitting)
- Eases joint pain, especially when backed up by a tailored home exercise regime
How to get involved
You can make simply plan a daily walk, or where possible, make the ‘school run’ a ‘school walk’!
If you wished to add some structure to the routine, try undertaking one of the many ‘virtual walking challenges’ that are available; simply choose a route and record your distances each time to earn a medal or t-shirt at the end.
Make sure you think carefully about your footwear. Invest in a decent pair of walking boots or walking shoes or even good trainers will do in drier conditions.
Now try to find that time to do that 20-30 daily walk and reap the health benefits for free, and it’s totally carbon neutral!
Happy Walking!
Mike Hodgson, Lead Physiotherapist