Walking and Weight Loss Exercise Tips

This article deals with the benefits of walking for weight loss as well as the general merits of losing weight by casual walk. In this competitive world your hectic work schedules might be making you spend most part of your day sitting. A recent study has revealed the painful fact that the percentage of people sitting has shoot up to high levels over the last years. Their fitness level is so low. It’s time to get up from your chairs. From the very first step we have been walking. A memorable walk from our childhood, teenage, youth and will continue walking… This article is dedicated to those who had neglected walking along the way. It’s still not late. Walking will help you a long way. It shields your brain. Walking helps your brain to be young. Surprising? Yes walking helps to prevent loss of memory.

Walking may not be a great calorie burner. But it works in a steady pace.

Walking is a very simple exercise. But you can make it feel that it’s not an exercise. Walk along with your peer group. You can take a small walk in your neighborhood after dinner. Walk along with your kids. Involve your entire family in this exercise. In a world were family values are declining a walk with your family is not only leading to fitness and less expenditure on health issues above all you are walking to a strong bond of family relations…

A small group of population has taken walking very seriously. This will emerge as a trend very soon. The number of people hitting obesity is increasing in an alarming rate. So to start with an exercise that won’t cost you anything ‘walking’ has got its own importance. Walking is a simple exercise which as such doesn’t demand fitness. Even unfit can do this. It’s a fact that even beginners can carry out this exercise with grace.

Benefits of walking for weight loss

• Walking helps in burning fat. The secret to burn fat is that body has to be continuously in the fat burning mode throughout the exercise. Walking is definitely one such exercise as it works steadily. It’s a simple technique.
• It has been proved that walking 2 and half hours a week reduces 13 to 15 pounds
• Two separate studies were conducted for analyzing the effect of walking on males and women. The results were amazing. In both sexes walking helped to increase the efficiency of heart.
• Walking can reduce the risk of breast cancer. Walking as said before helps to prevent memory loss.
• Walking will help you to burn calories and control your weight. Taking in to consideration its simplicity it is one among the way to help sedentary people to raise from their chair and do at least 20 minutes walk a day.
• Walking has proved to reduce the risk of diabetes.
• Walking is considered an excellent tool to slow down the loss of bone density.
• It also prevents colon cancer.
• Walking will definitely help you to boost your energy level and gifts you a healthy body and a healthy mind. Walking has proved to be beneficial in treating depression.

Duration For Your Walking Regimen for Weight Loss

Walk not less than 2 hours a week. It would be better if you can walk for 30 minutes for five to six days a week. ‘World Health Organization’ has recommended brisk walking for all.

150 to 160 minutes a week and you get to reduce 7%of your body weight.

Useful Tips That Could Make Walking Interesting

1. Do consult with your doctor before starting the regimen. Heart patients, people suffering from debilitating diseases, arthritis should definitely consult their physician before wearing their walking shoes.
2. People with infectious diseases are recommended not to walk. They require rest as rest is the most powerful medicine and in one way they are preventing the spread of infection by shunning themselves from community walk programs.
3. Wear comfortable shoes that support the arc of your foot. The heel should be a bit raised. Strictly avoid pointed heel foot wares. This is in no way doing justice to your posture.
4. Keep your body straight while walking.
5. Always do a warm up before walking as it’s a must for any form of exercise. You can do neck exercises, shoulder rotation, chest expansion, hip rotation before you start walking.
6. You will be swinging your hands well while walking.
7. Swing your hands from the initial position of bending your elbows. [ as if you are running] that is elbows bend at 90 degrees to the body. the rate of swinging can be increased as you increase the speed.
8. Hydrate yourself before walking. After walking too drink enough water
9. Take short steps. If you tend to take larger steps you will get tired soon and the steady pace of burning fat is not well achieved.
10. If you are habituated to long hour walk definitely take a bottle of water along with you.
11. If you go out in the sun do apply sunscreen lotion.
12. There is a set pace for walking. There are three phases in walking.

If it’s a thirty minute walk, walk the initial 10 minutes slow . This would be a warming up. Then walk fast for another 15 minutes. In the third phase reduce speed. Thus walk 5 minutes slow.

1. There is walking meditation which is not so known to majority of population which I will be writing in a separate article.
2. Do select well lighted areas for walking. You do not want to walk in a dim lit place being cautious about what you will step on next. Be relaxed and tension free when you walk.
3. Try to walk on level ground rather than climbing hills. Walking in a level ground is the best for cardiac patients. They should do walking after consulting with their cardio doctor.

Types of Walking

There are four types of walking.

1. One is the age old technique. What you are 100%familiar with. What you do as an instinct.
2. The next one is a walking technique that emerged as an Olympic sport. The name of that sport is race walking which demands a set of rules that suggest the athlete’s back toe should be on the ground till the heel of the front foot has touched the ground.
3. The third technique is power walking. It’s mainly done as a part of entertainment.
4. The fourth one is a treatment procedure in Naturopathy. Being a naturopath I can’t leave the topic.

The most exotic walk The Bare Foot Walking

Bare foot walking as the name denotes is walking with bare foot. It is the walking on a pavement of pebbles which are laid specially to achieve the effects of bare foot walking.

While telling about pedicure I had mentioned that treat your foot well. This will reflect in your entire body. The pebbles used in bare foot walking should be smooth not to hurt your feet. But it should press your acupressure points well.  Every ones foot is having nerve endings that represent the entire body.10 to 15 minutes of bare foot walking gives you great results. If you can do this for at least 4 days a week, it’s your internal body that is going to benefit from bare foot walking.

Start walking today and walk towards health.

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