Walking: Fitness Exercise Weight Loss Boost Brain Power

The path to physical fitness is littered with good intentions and unmet goals. Shiny new exercise equipment gathers dust. Gym memberships go unused. Home how-to exercise videos remain unplayed. Commitment to a daily exercise routine quickly wanes due to repetitious boredom or a lack of time to carry through on exercise goals to better health. Or, the exercise routine is too strenuous and leads to a physical pain that does not foster a desire to continue what feels like a self-inflicted form of abuse.

There is an exercise so easy to do most anyone can do it. In fact, it is so easy most do not consider it a form of exercise. An exercise requiring nothing more in the way of equipment than a good pair of tennis shoes. An exercise easy on the body yielding as much benefit as more rigorous forms of exercise offer. An exercise that can be done anywhere, at any time.

The physical activity of this exercise is as old as the human race. It is called walking.

Yes, walking. And the benefits of walking are more numerous than most might imagine. In separate and numerous scientific studies, researchers have proven the calorie burning benefit of walking is comparable to jogging, without the high impact damage jogging can cause to joints.

In addition to a slimmer waist and thankful knees, walking can reduce bone density loss while building bone strength, lower blood pressure and reduce bad cholesterol. A regular walking routine can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and some cancers.

Walking can help reduce stress, depression and anxiety by uplifting mood to a state of positive emotional health. Walking contributes to a greater sense of spiritual wellness as walking can reconnect us to our neighborhood and nature. As we walk, we tend to notice what we miss while confined to office cubicles, at home in front of the television or computer, and compartmentalized in a car designed to transport us as quickly and efficiently as possible from one place to the next without an awareness of all that exists in the places along the journey.

One of the best benefits to walking, aside from the obvious physical benefits, is the shared experience in the social bonding of quality time when walking with family members or neighborhood friends. All of these benefits of walking to physical strength, positive emotional health and spiritual enrichment would certainly be enough to motivate in scheduling a daily walk, but new research suggests that walking might also offer a healthy benefit for the brain in maintaining mental sharpness.

According to a special report in Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Healthy Living After 50, "In a study of more than 18,000 female nurses age 70 and older, those who walked the most (at least 1.5 hours per week) scored higher on tests of general thinking ability, verbal memory, and attention than did women who walked the least (less than 40 minutes per week). A study of more than 2,000 men over age 70 in Hawaii showed that regular walking reduced the development of dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease)."

Most experts agree 30 minutes a day of brisk walking is all that is needed to receive the health benefits from walking. A brisk level of walking is achieved when the walker can talk without feeling winded but cannot sing without a struggle. The best idea to maintaining a consistent walking routine is scheduling a walk at the same time each day, such as first thing in the morning or after lunch or dinner. But any time is a good time to take a walk, and methods of incorporating the activity of walking into daily life can extend beyond a 30 minute-a-day brisk walk. When possible, choose to walk instead of driving and take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Go For Your Life offers these suggestions to a pleasurable walking experience:

• Wear loose, comfortable clothing.
• Protect yourself from the sun with clothes, sunglasses, a hat and sun block.
• Wear waterproof clothing to avoid getting wet if it rains.
• Drink plenty of fluids before and after your walk. If you are taking a long walk, take water with you.
• Vary your walking routes so you can enjoy the change in scenery.
• Join a local walking club.
• If you have a medical condition or any health concerns, check with your doctor before you start any type of physical activity program.

Prevention Magazine offers a personalized online walking calendar where the user submit personal goals they hope to achieve as a result of a walking program designed to help the user reach their personal goals. Walk It is a special web exclusive featuring videos such as Do You Need New Shoes?; Beat Foot Pain; and Perfect Your Walking Technique.

There are organizations and clubs specific to walking. American Discovery Trail is a national organization dedicated to promoting walking and another is AmericaWalks in Portland, Oregon, that describes its activities as "a coalition actively promoting the development of local and regional pedestrian advocacy groups, with a mission of helping to create local groups and assist them in building a more walkable world."

Sources: Johns Hopkins; Prevention Magazine; Victorian Government Go For Your Life; Mayo Clinic; American Discovery Trail and AmericaWalks.