Building Walking Into Your Normal Daily Routine
Posted by Hamish Hayward in Uncategorized, tags: exercise, fitness, health, lose weight, shoes, Uncategorized, walking, weight loss, workoutIf, like many people, you would like to lose weight and get into better shape, then it really is quite simple (and achievable). In order to lose weight you must consume fewer calories by eating and drinking than you burn off as a result of physical activity. If you consistently burn off more calories than you consume over a period of time then you will lose weight. There is no magic formula, health supplement or pill that will change that.
Simply put, if you wish to shed pounds then you need to reduce the amount that you eat and drink (dieting), increase the number of calories that you burn (exercising) - or both. There’s little doubt that doing both simultaneously is the optimum solution. When you take exercise on a regular basis your metabolic rate - the speed at which you use up calories - is increased. Exercising consistently will mean that you burn calories faster even when you are not exercising - when you’re typing on your computer, when you’re reading a book - even when you’re sleeping.
Of course, the very thought of exercising can be off-putting for many people - but there’s no reason to avoid exercise, it needn’t involve getting all hot, sweaty and out of breath. One of the very best exercises that you can do is walking, something which the large majority of us do every single day. You just need to walk a little more often and a little further and you will soon reap the rewards - and there are many health benefits available to those who walk on a regular basis.
Current medical advice suggests that we should all be trying to take around 10,000 steps on a daily basis. That’s equivalent to a distance of somewhere between four and a half and five miles for most people. It sounds like a long way - but you will probably be pleasantly surprised at how achievable it actually is. After all, you’re not starting from scratch. Those 10,000 steps include the normal walking that you would be doing every day anyway.
Walk to work or school instead of taking the car - or if you travel by bus then get off a couple of stops early and complete your journey on foot. If you do take your car then park it in a distant corner of the parking lot so that you have further to walk to reach the entrance. At lunchtime, go for a short ten or fifteen minute walk instead of slumping in front of your computer. Small changes like these soon mount up.
Other than a good pair of comfortable shoes, you require no specialized equipment to start a walking workout. However, you may find a pedometer to be a useful investment - especially if a lot of your walking is done in short bursts throughout the day. It will help you to record and monitor your progress. You will find it easier to keep motivated - and also to find new ways of increasing your step count.
If you are able to fit longer walks into your day then you might also want to think about getting an mp3 player if you don’t already have one. Listening to your favourite music as you walk along will make both the miles and the time fly by much more quickly.
Discover how Fitflops exercise shoes can help to increase the effectiveness of your walking workout regime and monitor your progress with an Omron pedometer - it’ll help you to keep motivated.
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