You want to lose a few pounds because you feel a little unfit. Increasing your daily step count by a few thousand might help you start losing weight. A committed walking program can help you become more physically fit and healthy overall while assisting you in reaching a healthier weight.
For those who find it hard to get motivated to work out, consider the fact that you already walk every day as it is. You simply need to walk more to get fit.
Benefits You Gain From Walking
Eighty calories are burned by a 150-pound person walking a mile for 20 minutes. Because it requires more energy to move more mass, weight affects how many calories you burn. Similarly, if you weigh less, the count is smaller. There are a few things that can affect your walk.
Terrain: Going up hills increases your degree of effort and calorie burn. The same goes for navigating rocky or uneven trails.
Temperature: At both temperature extremes, you burn more calories while exercising. Your body works extra hard to stay warm when it is chilly. Calories are burned as you try to stay cool in hotter weather.
Age: As you age, your metabolism normally slows down gradually.
Gender: Men often burn calories more quickly than women.
How Many Steps Should You Take?
Any conversation about walking typically begins with a lofty goal: 10,000 steps, or nearly five miles. However, that figure does not always equate to actually advantageous cardiovascular activity.
The explanation is straightforward. Consider how you’re walking to understand if it’s equivalent to working out. For example, slowly moving through a store will increase your step count, but it won’t accomplish much for your fitness or weight loss. On the other hand, briskly walking around the block will get your heart rate up and add beneficial steps.
When walking becomes a form of cardiovascular workout, it benefits your fitness. That entails at least ten minutes of continuous, moderately intense one-foot-in-front-of-the-other exercise.
Added Advantages of Walking
- Greater reduction in cholesterol.
- Improved cardiac health.
- Decrease in blood pressure.
- Improved bone health and lower incidence of osteoporosis.
- Lowered risk of diabetes, colon cancer, and breast cancer.