The American Heart Association’s (AHA) National Start! Walking Day on Wednesday, April 4, is a nationwide call-to-action for Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
According to the AHA, heart disease is the nation’s No. 1 killer. The risk is double due to physical inactivity. In addition, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health that says a brisk one-hour daily walk reduced the genetic influence towards obesity, measured by differences in BMI by half. BMI or Body Mass Index is a screening tool used to help determine a healthy weight range.
Walking is the easiest and least expensive way to reduce that risk.
You are encouraged to wear sneakers or good walking shoes to work and take 15 to 30 minutes out of your day to get up and walk. It's a great way to get started this spring in a lifelong habit that will reap many benefits.
Helpul Hints
Swing your arms in natural opposition to your feet.
Lead with your chest, chin parallel to the ground.
Avoid extra-long steps. They overwork the calf muscles and could cause knee injury.
To work harder, walk uphill at intervals. Lean into inclines and look upward.
To increase intensity or speed, increase stride rate, not stride length.
Please people. Swing your arms. I learned the hard way about a couple of months ago the dangers in not doing that. My fingers swelled to twice their normal size. I was near tears in trying to remove the rings that were cutting off circulation to my fingers. And I stopped drinking water because I knew that the swelling had to do with the amount of water in my body. (Well technically it's about a sodium imbalance.) But yeah. Swing your arms since doing this enough can stop this ugliness from happening.
ReplyDeleteAnd utilize the environment! The weather is no excuse..! You can do laps of your office at lunch or walk your kids into fatigue (making bed time a lot simpler!)
ReplyDeleteThank goodness we started this a long time ago, we enjoy our talks as well as the exercise. We get in 2-4 miles a day, but it is hard to find a hill here in Florida, haha! But that will change in a few weeks, we will be walking the mts of Maine and New hampshire (we hope!!)
ReplyDeleteGood entry!
I wish I could. But I remember when I did. It is invigorating, fun. It soothes the soul and lifts your spirit.
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