WALKING THE WAY TO HEALTH

WALKING THE WAY TO HEALTH

Health Walk and Walking

The short definition of a health walk is:
"a purposeful, brisk walk undertaken on a regular basis"
and it can include any walk which is specifically designed and carried out for the purpose of improving an individual's health. With regard to cardiovascular health, the walk should be purposeful and 'brisk' (in other words more than just a stroll). Moreover it is a structured or semi-structured activity which is carried out on a regular basis as part of an individual's exercise regime.

Walking (without the 'health' bit) is a healthy activity in so far as any energy expenditure has health benefits, regardless of intensity.

Five Reasons to start Walking

For health: walking strengthens your heart, your bones and your muscles and it helps to control your weight.

For wealth: walking is free and will enrich your life in many ways.

For happiness: walking improves your mood and helps combat depression.

For comfort: go for a walk in a park or beach and discover how nature can reduce stress and calm your mind.

For joy: walk with friends or join a walking group and discover just how much fun walking can be!

Building a habit of regular walking

If you can only walk for a couple of minutes and then you need to rest that's OK. Where you start from isn't important - it's where you're going that counts!
Try to walk on most days of the week - you could start with a 10-minute walk and gradually increase the time you spend walking. Don't overdo it on your first walk. If you are very unfit you may want to start by walking every other day. Build it up bit by bit and know what you are aiming for.
To get health benefits from walking, you only need to walk for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. If it suits you to break this down and do, say, 3 sessions of 10 minutes walking in a day, that's just as good.

Why 'brisk' walking is the best

Any walking is better than none. Brisk walking is the best but, if you are unfit or have taken very little exercise recently, then gentle strolling is a good start. It is much better to start slowly and build up to walking faster rather than overdoing things at the beginning.
Brisk walking is the goal because the heart reaches its natural "training zone" when it has to work a little harder than normal.
You are walking briskly when:

• your heart beats faster than normal but is not racing
• your breathing is deeper than usual but conversation is still possible
• you experience a warm glowing feeling

Why walking is the perfect activity for health

Walking can improve:
Confidence
Stamina
Energy
Weight Control
Life expectancy

Walking can reduce the risk of:
Coronary heart disease
Strokes
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Bowel Cancer
Alzheimer's disease
Osteoporosis
Arthritis
Anxiety
Stress

LEGS - BEST PART OF THE BODY

The Organs of our body have their sensory touches at the bottom of our foot. The nerves connected to the organs terminate only at the foot. God created our body so well that he thought of even this. Hence he made us walk so that we will always be pressing these pressure points and thus keeping these organs activated at all times.

So, keep walking...