Everybody loves to be outdoors when the warm summer weather comes and here it is!
Now’s your chance.
Summer is the perfect moment to get out there and walk. Park the car and explore your city on foot, seeing points of interest you didn’t even know were there.
That’s the beauty of walking. It puts you in the heart of the environment you live in, whether it’s urban, rural or suburban. You’re part of the action, seeing things from a completely different perspective.
Walking is one of the most effective forms of exercise you can think of. Walking supports healthy bone density and muscle tone. It may even reduce the risk of cancer. Doctors regularly prescribe walking for diabetes patients, because it helps control blood sugar, too.
Chart a course.
Walking for just 30 minutes a day, five days a week can increase your life expectancy by a year. That’s a huge pay off for a minimal investment. So, what if you take it a step further?
What if you create routes for yourself, walking through areas you’ve never experienced on foot before. Chart your course and set goals. Perhaps this week, you’ll set out for a half hour on your personal itineraries and next week, for an hour.
Choose routes which offer visual interest like parks and lakes. Let’s face it, charging around a high school track is boring. Make it fun and interesting.
Step by step.
Invest in a pedometer to count the number of steps you take each day. Ideally, you should be hitting 10,000. This is a good place to note that most Americans only take about half that number of steps per day.
You don’t have to start at 10,000 steps. Work your way up, increasing your step count incrementally, as you take in the sights of your local area and maybe meet some new friends, while you’re at it.
Walking briskly, 2,000 steps add up to about a mile. Once you hit 10,000, you’ll be walking 5 miles at a time and that’s a genuine achievement – one you can be proud of.
Get ambitious.
The warm weather means being outdoors is a pleasure, so challenge yourself. Find routes which include inclines and hills. Each hill you climb reduces your blood pressure and builds that valuable muscle you need to be as healthy as possible. As you climb, you heart rate does too and that’s good news for your metabolism.
When you’re ready and feel that you’ve built yourself up enough, take on a local hiking trail. Make a day of it by packing a lunch and plenty of water. Hike to a spot where you can enjoy your achievement and congratulate yourself on walking your way to better health.
At Back & Body Medical, we’re a multi-disciplinarian group of pain relief doctors and medical professionals. We create tailored programs of care which address your individual needs. We’ve brought our award-winning model from Manhattan to New Jersey to bring you world class, integrated healthcare that works. Contact us.
