Walking is a great form of exercise that is easy to do, doesn’t have to take a long time, doesn’t cost anything and needs no equipment. It is also a great form of exercise that can provide benefit for anyone and everyone!
Here are some key benefits for why you should walk regularly:
Heart and Lung Health:
- There is a link between cardiovascular exercise (such as walking, running, swimming, cycling) and improvements in blood pressure, lung health and heart health. Improvements in blood pressure and heart and lung health, even small improvements can also improve your ability to heal from injuries or sicknesses.
- It has also been shown that your immune function can improve as a result of in increasing your daily step count and therefore, going for a regular walk can help this too.
Body Composition:
- Walking is a great form of movement which can actually benefit your weight management. People who are living more sedentary lives who start walking regularly can find that they see changes in their weight or body composition, not just in their perceived fitness levels.
Joint and Muscle Health:
- Common sayings among allied health professionals are ‘motion is lotion’ or ‘if you don’t use it you’ll lose it.’ While these are common, almost throw away sayings, they actually make a great point. It is important to make sure we maintain muscle bulk and strength in our bones to stay fit and healthy. It is also great for our joints, especially in your legs, hips and lower back as the joints move which helps to lubricate the joints and therefore maintain good quality of motion.
Mental Health:
- It has been found that regular exercise can be beneficial for people who suffer from any mental health disorders such as stress or anxiety. Walking has the potential to make you ‘feel better about yourself’ or to feel like you can ‘clear your head.’
- As well as the phycological benefits of being healthier and hopefully in less pain, as a result of the above points. So getting out in nature and going for a walk can provide an amazing benefit here!
One common issue people will face with walking is pain. Often walking will cause pain which puts people off going out for a stroll, which is completely understandable. A good guide is to measure your pain like this:
- If your pain is between 1-3 out of 10 (10 being the worst pain you’ve felt) then you should keep going, your body will likely thank you for it!
- If your pain is over 3 out of 10, you should either reduce the exercise by:
- Less days per week
- Walking slower
- Walking a shorter distance
- Finding another form of exercise that doesn’t illicit that same level of pain can also be a great option in the short term.
If your pain is over 3/10 when going for a walk, this may be an indication that there is a more significant issue in the body which may require some rest to heal. Manual therapy from an Osteopath or Myotherapist is also a great option and may be indicated in this case to diagnose and then treat the injury so that you can get back to walking and other activities as soon as possible!
Book in a treatment with one of our team at CHH today!