One thing that a lot of us don’t do enough… In this day and age the average person has become so lazy. We have the convenience of public transport and cars, and the option to not walk places has become so easy.
Walking is one of the greatest tools we have, for a variety of reasons- for weight loss, stress control, and it also helps to brighten your mood. Walking on a day to day basis has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers.
However, like many things we shouldn’t try to rush into walking miles and miles every day.
-Take the stairs in your flat/work/shopping center instead of the lift or elevator.
-Walk to the shops rather than take the car.
-Even take a 10 minute walk after dinner to help you digest your food.
We were built to walk, it’s in our genetics. We shouldn’t be sedentary all day.
On average, most of us walk 3,000-4,000 steps a day. We should aim to walk around 10,000 steps per day. Try setting yourself a challenge: use an app on your phone and track how many steps you take a day, then each following day try to walk 1,000 more until you reach 10,000. Then set yourself challenges to see how many steps you can take in a day.
When you are aware of the amount of steps you take in a day, you find yourself walking around aimlessly in an attempt to build up steps. THIS IS GOOD! Being active is the best way to keep fit.
Let’s be honest, is it optimal for health when someone is sedentary all day and is lazy then goes to the gym for an hour, then goes home and doesn’t move all night? NO!
Keep active, and most of all enjoy it. Do what you love. If you don’t like the gym but you’ve got a trampoline in your garden you love to use, do that. If you hate running but you’ve got a dog and you love going to the beach or up a hill, walk your dog in that place. Walk to get your coffee in the morning.
Park that little bit further from your work.
Walk to the next bus stop than you usually do.
All these little things add up to help make you a healthier and happier person! And most of all, make sure you are doing something you enjoy, that is the way to make these things routine and make sure that these healthy adaptations you make to your life are not a short term fix, they are life long changes.
