The benefits or harms of walking outside. Always in a good mood. Improves blood circulation

Walking is carried out as a result of complex activity of the muscles of the trunk and limbs. The benefits of walking are determined by the fact that it involves biomechanical and neurophysiological processes that comprehensively affect the entire body. Working different groups leg muscles, the activity of which provides tone to the whole body.

When walking, the body simultaneously moves its legs in three planes: vertical, longitudinal, transverse. The faster the walking pace, the higher the amplitude of vertical movements, more active work ligamentous-muscular apparatus, more intense energy consumption.

The work of the legs when walking activates blood flow: the blood intensively enriches the internal organs with oxygen, accelerating metabolic processes.

What are the benefits of walking?

Regular walking tours fresh air improve health and well-being:

  • The respiratory, muscular, and cardiovascular systems are strengthened.
  • Muscle activity improves blood flow through the veins. Consequence - prevention varicose veins veins, removing waste from the body.
  • Active energy processes eliminate fat: 15 min. medium pace (1.5 km) burns 100 kcal.
  • The benefits of walking for men are due to the fact that they are removed stagnant processes in the pelvic area.

The benefits of walking – in prevention somatic diseases, physical inactivity, diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Regular walking improves immunity, endurance, and has a positive effect on mental health, improves sleep.

Running or walking?

What is healthier – running or walking? According to experts, their effect is almost the same. Both types involve the same muscles and parts of the musculoskeletal system. But running requires more endurance and fitness.

The transition from walking to running is advisable when walking has become a habit and has strengthened the body. Jogging is recommended when normal weight. Exercising with excess weight will harm your joints and heart.

What are the benefits of walking compared to running? Doctors say that an intense walk for one hour is better for your health than a 30-minute run.

Indications and contraindications

Walking as a way to improve health is suitable for any age and gender. Everyone chooses the pace, duration, time and route of walks according to how they feel. But there are situations when you need to focus on indications and contraindications.

Indications:

  • reduced immunity, lethargy;
  • weakness, loss of strength.

Contraindications:

  • cardiovascular disorders, arrhythmia, stroke, heart attack;
  • pulmonary failure;
  • high blood pressure;
  • chronic kidney disease, diabetes;
  • threat of retinal detachment, glaucoma;
  • colds and other acute diseases.

When, how and how much to go

Walking for health is based on three principles:

  1. "Do no harm". The intensity and duration must correspond to the state of the body.
  2. Gradualism. The pace, time and duration increase without sudden stress on the body.
  3. Regularity. The ideal frequency of walking is daily. An acceptable option is 3-4 times a week for at least 30 minutes.

When to go

Always. Including the route to and from work. If work is far away, train yourself to walk several stops. Morning exercise invigorates you before a working day, evening exercise strengthens your sleep.

In summer it is better to go in the morning or evening hours; In winter, frost stimulates a fast pace, which means a good load on the body (excluding abnormal temperatures).

How and how long to walk

Depends on physical condition. An untrained body will get exercise from walking (4 km/h, low intensity, comfortable speed, heart rate does not exceed 80 beats/min.). Duration from 20 min. at the first stage up to 30-40 minutes. in a few weeks/months.

Duration of walking to reach healing effect– from 35 minutes (tempo up to 7 km/h, pulse – 65-80 beats/min.). This is an accelerated, training walk that gives a healing effect. The benefits of fast walking are as follows:

  • the risk of heart and vascular diseases is reduced;
  • body weight decreases;
  • blood pressure stabilizes;
  • physical endurance improves;
  • The aerobic capacity of the body increases.

The duration of the stage is from several months to a year, until the intensity of walking 6-10 km stops tiring. Next, maintaining physical fitness, including regular exercise walking.

Walking in place

The peculiarity of this type of walking is that the hips rise as in normal walking, but there is no horizontal movement. Walking in place is a good load on the basic systems of the body. It can also be used for general strengthening, and to increase endurance. The effect is about the same as normal walking.

“Walking” starts from 5-10 minutes, increases to 60-90 minutes. Speed ​​50-60 steps/min. corresponds to a 30-minute walk (step is the interval between kicks of the right leg).

Walking up the stairs of a high-rise building is the easiest way to improve your well-being. Where to begin? Because one prefers going up and down flights of stairs to entering an elevator.

The more difficult option is to climb past your landing to the top floor, stepping on the steps in a row. The main syndrome of vertical movement is pain in calf muscles. When the muscles stop reacting painfully, shortness of breath stops, and the heartbeat does not increase, the climb must be made more difficult: stand on the steps on your tiptoes, and later step across the step.

The benefits of walking on stairs are in the development and strengthening of leg muscles, stabilization blood pressure, weight loss. Climbing stairs burns several times more calories than running on a flat surface. The lesson gives positive effect, if it lasts at least 20-35 minutes. But the time frame for reaching this time is individual for everyone.

The benefits of walking are not associated with a specially allocated time. All you need to do is prohibit yourself from using the elevator, ignore the escalator if there are stairs nearby; refuse transport to and from work at acceptable distances.

Health is the most valuable thing a person has. You should always take care of it, without waiting for problems to appear. Most affordable way To improve the health of the body - walking. In this article we will analyze the usefulness, types and principles of walking.

What are the benefits of walking?

The benefits of walking can hardly be overestimated; they can:

Studies show that it helps reduce the likelihood of developing heart and vascular diseases by three times.

Moreover, thanks to active image life, bones are strengthened, blood pressure is regulated, muscle tissue are toned, sleep patterns are normalized.

By walking for several hours every day, you can reduce the risk of cancer in the mammary glands and eliminate painful sensations in the lumbar region, which were previously chronic.

  • Partially replace sports and help reduce excess weight.

Walking increases your heart rate, which increases blood flow and improves oxygen supply to your muscles. While walking, calories are burned 5 times more than when at rest.

  • Extend youth.

Aging is associated with high level the content of special proteins in the body that contribute to the development of inflammation and all kinds of “senile” diseases. By walking every day, you can reduce the amount of such proteins and maintain youth for as long as possible. Brisk walking increases a person's life expectancy in a ratio of 1:2, that is, by walking for 1 hour you can get an additional 2 hours of life.

  • Cheer up.

The benefit of walking, even for half an hour, is the effect of raising self-esteem, positive action for mood, distractions from negative thoughts and recharged with energy. By taking walks in the fresh air, there are all the prerequisites to get rid of impending depression. This happens due to the release of endorphins and neurotransmitters during the release of adrenaline.

  • Increase brain functionality.

Mental abilities improve as they become stronger neural connections. The benefits of walking manifest themselves not only in the left hemisphere, which is responsible for analytical work, but provides a wide field for implementation creative potential. It has been experimentally proven that the ability to generate ideas increases by 60%.

  • Save money.

A pleasant bonus to all the advantages of walking will be that they are “free”. Apart from comfortable walking shoes, there are no longer any restrictions; they do not require financial investments. There is no need to buy a subscription or pay for the services of a trainer. All it takes is a little effort to turn walking into a daily hobby.

What types of walking are there?

There are many varieties of walking. Among them:

  • walking in place;
  • on foot;
  • Scandinavian;
  • sports;
  • energy;
  • up the steps.

Let's take a closer look at some types.

On foot

A person walks all his life, this is his physiology, unless, of course, serious problems with health.

The main thing in this type of movement can be called gradualness and frequency. Graduation involves starting with shorter, slower walks and gradually increasing the time interval and speed.

Discounts must be made for health status and age. So young and healthy people should focus on speed of movement, and older ones - on duration.

By frequency we should understand the preference for systematic walks, since walking “from time to time” will not bring the expected result.

The main benefit of walking is the improvement of the whole body as a whole. Walking can significantly improve your well-being and improve your quality of life.

Nordic walking

This variation consists of moving with the support of two ski-like poles. When walking, you should push off slightly from them.

The benefits of Nordic walking are:

  • improving the functioning of the heart muscle;
  • enhanced ventilation;
  • strengthening muscle tissue.

In order not to harm your health, you should choose the right poles. Their size is calculated by the formula: P*K, where P is the athlete’s height, and K is a constant coefficient equal to 0.68.

Race walking

This style of walking is characterized by speed. You must try to move at the highest possible speed. In this case, you cannot start running, that is, at any time one of the feet must touch the surface of the ground.

The benefits of walking in a sports style are ensured by a general strengthening effect on the body; with such movement, a person gets tired much less than when running.

Girls should Special attention pay attention to race walking, because it helps create beautiful feminine contours of the figure.

How to practice walking correctly?

You need to be able to walk correctly. It's not just about rearranging your legs and moving in space. For walking to be beneficial, it is important to follow some rules.

Is a warm-up necessary?

Before starting hiking, sports or sports activities Nordic walking, you should prepare the muscles for the load. To do this, you should do at least a minimal warm-up. It may include the following groups of exercises:

  • Initial.
    • swing your legs;
    • shallow squats;
    • jumping in place.
  • Intense. Includes muscle stretching exercises:
    • wide steps with body fixation;
    • springy squats.

What pace to keep

Healthy walking involves several speed modes:

  1. Slow. Is no more than 3 km/h. This type is recommended for use by people with poor health or during the period after illness.
  2. Average. The speed can vary from 3 to 4 km/h. Preferred as initial stage for untrained people who do not yet have experience.
  3. Fast. The speed can increase to 5 km/h. Recommended for people who do not have health problems.
  4. Very fast. A person moves 6 kilometers in 1 hour. Suitable for healthy, physically developed and trained people.

How to finish

You should not stop walking without preparation. Just like before starting a walk, you should do a few gymnastic exercises. IN in this case This will be moderate walking and exercises to relax muscles that were overstrained during the walk.

Who shouldn't walk?

The benefits of walking are great, however, there are conditions when, unknowingly, you can harm your health. Contraindications include:

  • Recent surgeries. There is a risk of sutures coming apart and increased pain due to increased physical activity.
  • Exacerbation of chronic diseases.
  • The presence of pathologies in musculoskeletal system. Short walks are only possible with the permission of the attending doctor.
  • High blood pressure.
  • Development of infectious processes.

How long should you walk every day?

To stay healthy, you need to walk every day, not every now and then. To begin with, when traveling to work or home, it is enough to get off early, at a stop earlier than necessary.

In addition, it is better to calculate the walk not by kilometers traveled, so that there is no desire to unjustifiably speed up, but by the time spent on the road. Half-hour or hour-long walks at an average pace in the fresh air are considered optimal and most effective.

Do you suffer from joint pain, heart problems, stress, depression or obesity? Because according to the Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, walking helps reduce the risk of all chronic diseases. In fact, most health professionals will choose a brisk walk over a run, as it is a low-stress exercise that is gentle on the heart and joints. Read on, and you will learn 20 properties of how walking affects your health if you do it daily - and go ahead, no matter whether you are 8 or 80!

1) 45 minutes of walking can help strengthen and tone the muscles of the legs and back and prevent loss muscle mass 2) 30 minutes of daily walking can help you lose weight, improve your metabolism and gain lean muscle mass 3) 30 minutes of interval cardio can help lower your blood pressure and relieve shortness of breath

1. Boosts Heart Health

Walking helps improve heart health. Irish scientists report that walking - best exercises for individuals leading sedentary image life, especially for adults, to reduce the risk of heart and vascular diseases. In another study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers confirmed that men and women 65 years of age and older who walked at least 4 hours a week had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. So don’t forget to walk at least 4 hours a week so that stroke and other heart troubles avoid you.

2. Promotes weight loss

Walking is a great exercise to lose weight and is so effective it's hard to imagine. American scientists conducted an experiment in which obese patients walked with each other (a concept called the “walking bus”) to where they usually went in the city public transport. After 8 weeks, weight measurements were taken and it was found that more than 50% of participants had lost an average of 5 pounds. You might also think it's a good idea to walk there and back instead of getting in the car.

3. Regulates blood pressure

Walking can also lower blood pressure. Researchers from medical university Wakayama, Japan, conducted an experiment in individuals with moderate hypertension in which 83 patients walked 10,000 steps every day for 12 weeks. By the end of 12 weeks they had a significant reduction blood pressure, as well as improving endurance. Even if 10,000 steps a day is beyond your ability, walking for at least 60 minutes every day will certainly benefit your blood pressure.

Find out more without using pharmaceutical drugs.

4. Fights cancer

Cancer has taken more than a million lives. One of the causes of cancer is a sedentary lifestyle, and this is where walking can help you. Scientists have found that by going for a walk every day, you can reduce body weight and remove several kg of fat, thereby reducing the risk of cancer. It turned out that there is no need to doubt whether walking is beneficial for those undergoing cancer treatment, since it softens side effects chemotherapy. It may also reduce the risk of breast cancer.

5. Improves blood circulation

Believe it or not, walking can make you smarter by boosting your brain required quantity oxygen and glucose, which will help it function better. It also lowers levels of LDL cholesterol, which clogs arteries, increasing the risk of stroke. Thus, blood circulation, brain and cell functioning are improved.

6. Reduces the risk of diabetes

A sedentary lifestyle leads to an exponential increase in one of the most common diseases - diabetes. For people with type 2 diabetes, scientists recommend taking 3,000 to 7,500 steps a day, sitting less, and being more active overall. Walking every day can help control your blood sugar levels, which in turn can help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.

7. Strengthens bones

With age, bones become more fragile. However, there is also good news: Daily walks can help you strengthen them. This low-stress exercise prevents loss of density bone tissue, thus reducing the risk of osteoporosis, fractures and injuries. Since bones are the foundation of the body, stronger and healthier bones mean good posture, endurance and balance. Walking can also prevent arthritis and relieve associated pain.

8. Strengthens muscles

With age, a person loses not only bone mass, but also muscle mass. And here, too, walking can help you, because it strengthens and tones the muscles, and also prevents the loss of muscle mass. Regular walking can strengthen the muscles in your legs and back.

Poor digestion can lead to discomfort in the intestines, bloating, constipation, diarrhea and even colon cancer. Thus, it is very important to keep your digestive system in order. To do this, you need not only to develop healthy gastronomic habits, drink more water, but also walk regularly. Walking after eating is wonderful. It will help you lose weight and also help digest food.

10. Strengthens immunity

The body's immune system must always function properly to fight infection, disease and death. Walking is a great way to strengthen your immune system. Walking for at least 30 minutes a day can help you get active. immune cells, such as B cells, T cells and natural killer cells. This stimulates faster whitening production blood cells, which allows the body to recover faster.

Dementia or dementia is a neurological condition characterized by the gradual loss of memory and cognitive functions. Over time, it may make it impossible to exercise household chores and make you completely dependent on others. Walking at a moderate pace every day can help prevent dementia, improve memory and make older adults more confident.

12. Increases lung capacity

Walking can also increase lung capacity. When you walk, you inhale more oxygen compared to when you are at rest. This increased exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide can affect lung capacity, which also contributes to endurance and exercise ability. The best thing about all of this is that you don't even have to run to do it. All you need to do is walk at an average pace for 60 minutes (with breaks, of course!).

13. Slows down aging

A study of 17,000 Harvard graduates found that students who walked for at least 30 minutes every day lived longer than those who were sedentary. Walking is sometimes associated with the activation of the enzyme telomerase, which is responsible for maintaining DNA integrity and is an important factor in aging, but walking in any case has a beneficial effect on all problems associated with age-related changes in organism.

14. Helps produce vitamin D

Walking in the morning is a great opportunity for the body to produce vitamin D. It is very important for strong bones, prevents cancer, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. So The best way charge yourself with it - go out and walk for 10-15 minutes in the morning sun, without worrying that the body will be harmed.

Learn more about and how to get it in sufficient quantity.

15. Relieves stress

Walking can help reduce stress levels by improving blood circulation, which in turn provides cells with oxygen and nutrients. It also stimulates the receptors nervous system and reduces the production of stress hormones. Regular breathing while walking will also help you cope with anxiety.

16. Uplifts your mood

In several scientific research Scientists have argued in favor of the idea that physical activity can help prevent depression. Walking is highly recommended by doctors and psychiatrists as a way to improve your mood. So, if you're feeling down or sad, take a walk, get some fresh air, realize how beneficial it is - and you'll feel better.

17. Improves memory

Japanese scientists have found that walking has a beneficial effect on the memory of elderly patients. Physical exercise help increase the size of the hippocampus, while a sedentary lifestyle reduces it, leading to memory loss. Try to walk every day, this will significantly improve your memory.

18. Increases productivity

Regular walks can also make you more active and energetic. This, in turn, can increase your productivity. Walking is good for everything, be it school, work, memory, flexibility or response to stress. various stimuli- all this will change for the better.

19. Gives a creative boost

Walking can help you when you feel stuck creatively. They will calm your nerves and relax your brain. When you walk, you are not pressured by deadlines or the need to satisfy someone else's expectations. This helps you start thinking strategically and sorting everything out. So if you are stuck with any problem, take a walk!

20. Helps you make new acquaintances

Walking can help you find new acquaintances and, perhaps, new friends who will inspire you to walk every day, because you will want to meet them again. You can also go to social events. By the end of the day you will be charged with positive energy and peace.

It's clear from this list that walking is beneficial and can improve your health in many ways, but what preparations do you need to make to start walking daily? Let's find out what might be useful to you.

What do you need to start walking?

To start walking, you need a few basic things. Here is the list:

  • Walking shoes
  • Comfortable clothes
  • A bottle of water and an energy bar for long walks
  • If you decide to walk to the office, wear office clothes and a pair of comfortable shoes that you can change into while at work.
  • Raincoat
  • Motivation is absolutely necessary at least in the first 5 days.

Below you'll learn how to stay motivated to walk every day.

The content of the article:

Hiking can not only be an enjoyable pastime, but can also be a great workout. If we compare this type physical activity with others, then walking is as accessible as possible. Not all people can do, say, jogging or cycling. But everyone can devote a sufficient amount of time to walking. It is also necessary to remember that walking has no serious contraindications, which is also very important. At the same time, they can be very beneficial for your health. Let's find out what benefits walking can bring.

What are the benefits of walking?

It must be said right away that while walking, quite a lot of big number body muscles. This, as you may know, helps maintain muscle tone. In addition, walking is an excellent remedy prevention various diseases musculoskeletal system and helps strengthen ligaments and joints.

When you walk, your lungs are well ventilated, which improves the quality of oxygen supply to all body tissues. Walking perfectly speeds up blood flow, normalizes cholesterol balance, strengthens the heart muscle and improves performance. vascular system. In addition, scientists have proven that walking helps prevent the development of diabetes.

You can see for yourself that the benefits of walking are high, but that’s not all. Walking improves performance digestive system and accelerates the processes of removing harmful and toxic substances from the body. Since in the process of walking you strengthen your body, the performance of the immune system also increases.

Even at a slow walking pace, your metabolic rate increases significantly. This has a positive effect on all internal organs and slows down the aging process of cellular structures. In addition, it has been proven that walking helps improve vision. Walking is no less beneficial for a person’s psycho-emotional state. They help reduce stress, eliminate anxiety and even depression.

Of course, to achieve such excellent results, you need to take walks regularly, not just occasionally. The best option is daily walking. IN as a last resort, take walks at least three times a week, and their duration should be at least 30 minutes. If you have not been involved in sports, then start with short walks, gradually increasing their duration.

To warm up your muscles, each walk should start at a slow pace. After 15 minutes of slow walking, increase your speed, but keep your heart rate steady. While walking, keep your back straight and shoulder joints relax. Also use comfortable walking shoes to avoid discomfort. In this case, the benefits of walking for your health will be invaluable.

Hiking and weight loss


Perhaps not everyone knows, but walking can also be useful in the fight against fat. But you should remember that to lose weight it is not enough for you to just walk. In addition, several conditions must be met. First of all, regularity of classes is important. If to maintain muscle tone it is enough to take about ten thousand steps every day, then when it comes to losing weight, you need to take at least sixteen thousand steps.

To make it easier for you, you should use a special device - a pedometer. However, you can do without it, observing certain rules. Firstly, the duration of the walk should be at least 30 minutes. Secondly, start and finish your walk at a slow pace, and in the middle of the distance you need to increase your speed and walk about a kilometer in ten minutes.


Try to use routes that have elevations. Thanks to this, you can increase your energy expenditure, and, therefore, your walking will bring more benefit in terms of weight loss. If you have a large body weight, then to reduce the load on the articular-ligamentous apparatus you should walk on grass or soil, but not on asphalt.

What to choose - walking or running?


Many people are interested in what will bring more benefits - walking or jogging? Experts are confident that the impact of these physical activities on the body is approximately the same. This is due to the fact that the same muscles are involved in the work when running and walking. The main difference is that to run you must have at least a minimum level physical training. There are no such requirements for walking.

All people who have not exercised before can be recommended to start with walking. When your body gets stronger and your muscles become stronger, you can start jogging if you wish. However, you should not run if your body weight is large enough, as this can damage the joint-ligamentous system. In addition, scientists believe that an hour-long walk will bring more benefits compared to a half-hour run.

We have already noted that walking has no serious contraindications. However, it is not advisable to take walks if you have arrhythmia, after a heart attack (stroke), or high blood pressure blood, diabetes, during colds and at pulmonary insufficiency. But walking is recommended for low immunity, loss of strength and lethargy.

How to walk correctly?


If you decide to take up walking for health reasons or to lose weight, then you need to follow three principles:
  • Do not harm your body - the intensity of your walks should match general level preparing the body.
  • Gradual increase in loads - the duration of classes and the pace of walking must be increased gradually.
  • Regularity of exercise - it is advisable to take walks daily. As a last resort, do this 3-4 times throughout the week.
You don't have to set aside special time to go for walks. You can walk to work and back. If you live far from your place of work, then walk several stops. You should also remember that walking in the morning can charge you with energy for the whole day. If you walk in the evening, you can improve the quality of your sleep. IN summer period you can take walks both in the evening and in the morning. In winter, you can increase the load on the body, since the cold will force you to increase your speed of movement.

How long and how to walk?


It is impossible to give an exact answer to this question, since it all depends on the state of your health. If your body is not trained, then to get the benefits of walking you should keep a slow pace with a heart rate of no more than 80 beats per minute. To do this, you need to move at a speed of approximately 4 kilometers per hour. Over the course of several weeks, the duration of classes should not exceed 40 minutes.

To obtain a strong healing effect, you must adhere to a moving speed of 7 kilometers per hour for 35 minutes. The heart rate should be from 65 to 80 beats per minute. The preparatory stage can last from several weeks to one year. As soon as walking a distance of ten kilometers stops tiring you, you can begin to increase the load.

In addition to regular walking, walking in place can also be very useful. It can be used not only to obtain a healing effect, but also to increase endurance. Scientists have found that the benefits of walking are approximately equal to walking in place. average speed should be between 50 and 60 steps per minute. If you have not previously engaged in sports, then the duration of walking in place should be about 10 minutes. Gradually increase this time to one or one and a half hours.

Walking on stairs can also be very beneficial. For residents of multi-storey buildings, there will be no problems with organizing such activities; they will only have to refuse the services of an elevator. On average, a lesson will be effective if it lasts about half an hour, but a lot depends on individual characteristics body.

Read more about the benefits of walking here:

Walking is a universal type of physical activity that is beneficial and has virtually no contraindications. With the help of walking, the body recovers from injuries or surgical operations. Thanks to regular training body weight can be normalized. Walking in the fresh air has positive impact on the psycho-emotional state.

What happens in the body while walking?

After a few minutes of walking, regardless of the pace, it accelerates evenly heartbeat, which helps improve blood circulation, oxygen supply to organs and tissues, training of cardio-vascular system. All metabolic processes occur at a higher speed. Therefore, walking is recommended for the following purposes:

  • lowering cholesterol levels;
  • excretion excess liquid from the body;
  • normalization of the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
  • restoration of blood supply internal organs, fabrics;
  • stabilization of the activity of the endocrine, central nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory systems.

Read also the article on our website.

Note: Walking helps maintain physical fitness in older people. This is the only type of physical activity recommended for all ages. Walking is also beneficial for pregnant women.

This video talks about the benefits of walking

Nordic walking with poles, also called Nordic, Finnish and Nordic, is a way to increase physical activity using special equipment. This technique began its development in 1990 and is now popular all over the world.

Walking as a form of exercise

A person walks a considerable distance during the day: the road to a bus stop, to work, to the store, etc. But rarely does anyone perceive habitual movement as training. IN modern rhythm life, a short walk is sometimes the only view physical activity.

To correct the situation, you need to reconsider your route to work or to the store, allocate more time for the road and regularly walk at least part of the distance. All you need is comfortable shoes to make your walk comfortable and useful.

You can get the maximum effect from walking by following these rules:

  • The pace should be even and gradually accelerate after a few minutes.
  • It is useful to alternate between fast and slow walking.
  • It is necessary to monitor the rhythm of breathing and prevent shortness of breath.
  • When walking, place your foot on your heel and smoothly roll onto your toe.
  • If you can choose a route, it is better to give preference to areas with variable terrain (moderate climbs uphill, along stairs, downhill).
  • It is useful to take a walk in a park where there are many trees and clean air, or on the seashore or river.
  • It is important to get maximum pleasure from the walk, including aesthetic pleasure, so it is better to plan a route along picturesque areas or beautiful streets.

While walking, you can drink water in small sips as needed to prevent dehydration. After all, with sweat, the body loses moisture and removes useful microelements.

Optimal walking duration

The maximum effect is achieved with a walk of at least 30 minutes. However, during the period of rehabilitation and recovery, you need to start with a shorter duration, gradually adding time.

Note: If you have problems with the joints and spine, it is recommended to use special support sticks when walking. Thanks to them, the level of stress on the knees and spinal column is reduced.

Walking should be done daily. The following schedule is best for beginners:

  1. First week - walking at a slow pace for 10-15 minutes, every day gradual increase pace for the same duration. The main rule is to monitor your well-being and even breathing.
  2. Second week - adding 5 minutes to the main time (total 20 minutes). Alternating between medium and slow tempos.
  3. 3-4 weeks - walks for half an hour. One day - 10 minutes slowly, 10 minutes - at an average pace, 10 minutes - slowly. The second - 5 minutes slowly, 10 minutes - at an average pace, 5 - quickly, gradually reducing the pace over the remaining time. Alternate days.

Advice: Do not postpone training if you have a mild headache, bad mood, slight malaise. Walking in the fresh air improves overall body tone and well-being.

Running workouts are the most accessible view physical activity, which perfectly maintains muscle tone, is a preventive measure cardiovascular diseases, helps fight overweight, accelerates metabolism in the body. Running is beneficial for everyone, regardless of age and physical fitness. The main condition is the absence of contraindications.

The weather is not a hindrance to a walk

The good thing about walking is that it can be done at any time of the day, regardless of the weather. In summer, it is better to walk in the morning or evening, when the air temperature is comfortable for the body. In the autumn-spring season, you should not give up walking because of cool air or light rain. In winter, frosty air has a wonderful tonic and hardening effect.

Tip: During the autumn-winter period, you should choose comfortable clothes that suit the weather for walks. The body should be warm, but not hot, because when elevated temperature the heart experiences a higher load.

Walking for weight loss

Physical activity in the fresh air allows you to burn large quantity calories than similar indoor activities. When walking, as with any aerobic exercise, oxygen, which actively enters the body, participates in the oxidation of free fatty acids. This allows you to reduce body weight by burning fat deposits.

Advice: For obese people, regular walking can help them lose a certain amount of kilograms. At heavy weight This is the only load that is gentle on the joints. After losing weight, you can add other types of exercise to walking.

The body of trained people is able to burn fat even with minimal aerobic exercise. Those who lead sedentary lifestyle life, ability to accumulate fatty acid exceeds the ability to oxidize. Therefore, a larger percentage of lipids are combined into triglycerides, settling in the layer of subcutaneous fat.

Note: Moderate walking burns an average of 10 kcal/min. In trained people this figure is higher.

Types of walking

There is a conditional division of this type of physical activity into:

  • Walk in place. The movements are the same as when walking, with the exception of horizontal movement along the surface of the earth.

  • Walking up the stairs. During the lifting process, the leg muscles are trained and vascular tone improves.

  • Normal walking.
  • Traveling on foot over rough terrain. A change in the relief of the earth's surface activates different muscles legs, strengthening and making them more elastic.

Hiking is a simple and accessible exercise for everyone that helps maintain a healthy body, stable weight and physical fitness body, as well as good mood and well-being. No need to vacate to walk separate time. You can walk on your way to work or shopping, but instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs.