Want to feel better, look sexier, and live longer? Walk more. As the health advice says, it’s not something earth-shattering. But it is often overlooked.
As a species, walking is what we do best. In fact, this may be how your ancestors came from Africa to where they eventually settled. The standardized 30-minute daily exercise guidelines are based on the huge health benefits of walking, but no one seems to be doing it. For people who are generally short of time, the basic movement pattern of walking is often avoided in favor of more strenuous forms of exercise. However, the beneficial health effects of walking are multiple and far-reaching.
Quell the Fire
Modern life doesn’t seem to be designed to provide optimal health. The combination of daily routines, the food we eat, and our need to stay in one place all day for work has been linked to an increase in inflammation, which leads to an increase in the incidence of cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and diabetes, and obesity. Sadly, we can’t all change jobs and live off the land. Rather than resorting to a mixture of drugs and antioxidants, which can ruin some of your good work, starting to increase exercise by increasing walking, is the best step to reverse some of these problems.
“Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, can also enhance your ability to deal with oxidative damage. This makes exercise both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.”
When we move muscles, signaling molecules, commonly known as myokines, are released. Although many muscle factors may also be involved in an inflammatory response, they actually reduce inflammation when stimulated by exercise. This is one of the main reasons why regular walking can significantly reduce the risk of metabolic diseases and certain cancers and even erectile dysfunction. Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, can also enhance your ability to deal with oxidative damage. 12 This makes exercise both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. And not a single pill in sight.
Dieters Stroll
Although many people still rely on counting calories for fat loss, there isn’t as much evidence to support this idea as we believe. Not all calories are created equal, and inducing a calorie deficit by increasing exercise alone will not achieve long-term weight loss. The good thing about this complex equation is that some activities that don’t “burn” a lot of calories still help with weight control (if you prefer). Instead of worrying about starving and losing weight, you can significantly lose fat by sitting less and walking more.
Every Bit Helps
As I mentioned earlier, suicide on the treadmill is not enough to compensate for the negative impact of a sedentary lifestyle on life expectancy. This means exercising every day, and the best way to do this is to walk more. For most of us, this can start with walking to work. Using public transport? Drop off a stop or two early. Driving to work? Use the park-and-ride facility and walk for the last ten to twenty minutes. Worried about being late for work? Perfect – a brisk pace brings even greater benefits.
On top of that, there are many other ways to incorporate walking into your daily routine:
- Distraction: Take a walk while taking a phone call at work, or go out for a few minutes between meetings. Just two or three minutes of segmented walking time is enough to improve metabolism.
- Lunch with friends: even the shortest lunch break is enough for a walk. Why not bring your colleagues together to create an easier and more productive workplace?
- Walk around while eating: Dinner time is another great opportunity to take a walk. When dinner is done in the oven, take a quick lap. Better yet, take a walk after eating. Your online dating profile shows that you love long romantic walks in the sunset, but when was the last time you actually took a romantic walk?
Best of all, all of this walking adds up. Multiple ten-minute walks may even be better than one long walk. This means that ten minutes of commuting, ten minutes of lunch, and ten minutes after dinner is a wonderful start.
Pro Tip
If you’re the type of person who needs to have a clear plan before walking, you’re probably left with two questions – where should I go and how fast should I go?
Outdoor activities: Most studies that have looked at the health effects of walking have used treadmills in exercise science labs or provided people with pedometers to track their steps without having to specifically check where they walk. This shows that you can walk almost anywhere to see most of the health improvements. However, studies have found that walking outdoors in green areas has greater psychological benefits than walking indoors or in the city. Most importantly, finding your favorite environment, whether it’s a beach, river, forest, or park, is likely to give you the most benefit.
Beyond Death: I know what you’ve always wanted to know. How fast do you need to move to defeat the Grim Reaper? Luckily, science has the answer, and it seems to be three miles per hour. Other studies have shown that 80% of your maximum walking speed is the most effective and sustainable pace. 28 If you want to estimate these speeds, try one of the following:
- Use a map or online pedometer to measure a nearby half-mile loop. The goal is to complete it in ten minutes (three miles per hour).
- Find a short distance where you can walk as fast as you can for twenty seconds. For 80% of your maximum speed, cover the same distance in 25 seconds.
Remember, the key is to start moving and build habits, not reaching a specific speed. Take some time to go for a walk and enjoy it. As we all know, faster isn’t always better.
