Walking Is The Queen Of Exercises
When you consider the popularity of exercises, walking occupies the top position. Irrespective of age, people of all ages prefer walking as an exercise and this number is increasing day by day. The recorded history of mankind shows that walking has been practiced as an exercise even in ancient times. Famous people like Emerson, Thoreau, Jefferson, Lincoln and Truman were fond of walking.
Popularity of walking is increasing. People walk for various reasons like pleasure, utility and health. Brisk walking consumes more oxygen; it also lowers the resting heart rate and hence blood pressure is reduced. Efficiency of the heart and lungs greatly increases.
Studies reveal that the calories burned by walking for a mile are the same as running for a mile. Heavy individuals burn more calories than light people. Vigorous walking or speed-walking gives a lot of indirect benefits such as the walker's metabolism remains above normal level for an extended period and hence more calories are burned.
Walking is better than running in the sense it is injury-free. The psychological benefits walkers get are too good to be ignored. The feeling of well-being does a world of good to them. Further, vigorous walking helps in getting good sleep and the individuals can start their day with rejuvenated enthusiasm.
Personal habits are also influenced by walking. To quote an example, persons who start this exercise and who are also smokers are likely to quit or reduce this habit because vigorous walking is not possible for smokers.
Some of the unique advantages of walking are that it does not need training and anybody can start doing it. It can be done anywhere, anytime. You can have your own timings and walking does not require any teaming or partnering. Except a pair of good and comfortable shoes, you do not need any equipment for starting this exercise. If you want to make it a fitness exercise, you have to just increase the pace of your walking and the distance you cover.
You can do certain warm-up exercises before you start walking vigorously. But you should bear in mind that you should never exceed the limits of your physical condition. Beginners can do walking exercises for about 20 minutes and can gradually increase the time, distance and pace.
You should listen to the conditions of your body. If you feel dizziness, nausea or any other uncomfortable symptom, you must immediately stop walking and consult a Doctor as soon as possible. You should also not try to compete with anybody. Your body conditions are completely different from those of others. Last, but not the least, you should schedule your walking exercise at a regular hour every day to get maximum benefits.
Also, read "Simple tips for weight loss" by the same author.
