Walking at higher speeds, on soft and uneven surfaces and carrying additional weight leads to significant health improvements.
Going for a walk every day is essential to counteract the negative effects that sitting for many hours has on our body. However, it seems that the number of steps is not actually that relevant. More than quantity, it is a question of quality and the benefit of walking is found in the speed and demand of the walk.
In that sense, experts from Harvard University, Stanford University and the Mayo Clinic in the United States affirm that the faster, farther and more often we walk, the greater the benefits for our body.
Five keys to turning walking into a complete exercise
1-Maintain the frequency
Based on consistency, better and faster results are obtained by going for a half-hour walk at a good pace than by going to the gym or running.
Walking is an ideal alternative for those people who, due to being overweight or other health problems, have difficulty doing vigorous exercises. In turn, this activity is a good way to start being more active and progress towards more physically demanding habits.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week.
A walk of approximately 30 minutes 5 times a week is enough to meet these recommendations.
For this activity to have a positive impact on overall health, it is essential to maintain consistency, acquire the habit and, gradually, increase the challenges.
2- Use canes
Although there is a tendency to think that canes should be used by older adults with locomotion problems, incorporating them improves the walking and physical condition of people at any age.
In that sense, Nordic walking combines cardiovascular exercise with vigorous muscle training for the shoulders, arms, torso and legs.
“When you walk without canes you are activating the muscles below the waist. “If Nordic poles are added, all the muscles in the upper part of the body are also activated,” explained the cardiologist. Aaron Baggishaffiliated with Harvard University.
“You are exercising between 80% and 90% of your muscles, instead of 50%, which provides a substantial benefit for burning calories,” added the specialist in a publication from Harvard Medical School.
There, it is noted that Nordic walking burns more calories than normal walking: estimates range between 18% and 67% more.
3- Change the surface
Harvard doctors say the easiest way to scale the walking exercise is to find an incline.
Choosing steep paths or paths, such as stairs, adds resistance that can help build muscles in the lower body, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves.
Lauren Elsona sports medicine specialist at Stanford University, suggested: Climb stairs for a minute or two or increase the incline on your treadmill and walk for 30 seconds to a minute.
4- Vary the intensity
Walking at a faster pace than usual for a short period, followed by a rest period at a slower pace and repeating the cycle for a set time or distance, is intensity interval training.
“The key is to walk at a fast pace that increases our heart rate and forces us to work harder,” Elson recommended in a recent Harvard Medical School publication. Of course, what is considered “energetic” differs for each person, which is why it is important that a professional guide the exercise or walking routine to be performed.
To know if we are making the necessary effort or not when walking or exercising, specialists recommend remembering the “speech test”, which consists of being able to maintain a fluid dialogue without effort while doing physical activity.
“This ensures that you work hard enough, but not too hard. Aim for a 5 to 6 on the scale during the highest intensity interval portion of your walk, which is a moderate intensity level,” Elson detailed.
5- Set a goal
Experts at the Mayo Clinic recommend keeping a daily progress log of the number of steps, the duration of the walk, and the distance traveled. This is very useful to gauge the point at which we begin to take the activity seriously and can serve as a source of inspiration so as not to lose consistency.
“Think about how good you will feel when you see how many kilometers you have walked each week, month or year,” highlight the specialists at the American health center.
Under these precepts, using an activity tracker or a cell phone application to calculate steps and distance is a great resource for measuring objectives and setting new goals. However, the important thing is to abandon a sedentary life and start moving: going for a walk is always beneficial.
