Benefits of Going on a Walk 

Photo by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash

Walking is one of the most overlooked exercises, especially in the United States. Doctors recommend that adults get at least 10,000 steps a day or around five miles of walking. However, the average American only walks between 1.5 and 3 miles a day. Walking is simple yet highly beneficial for health. Going on a walk once a day, for even just 30 minutes, increases fitness levels, reduces the risk of diseases and lowers body fat. 

Most people do not realize that when they walk, they are carrying their whole body weight along with themselves. For this reason, walking is known to be one of the best weight-bearing exercises. According to The Arthritis Foundation, walking each day helps you to grow stronger at other higher-impact exercises, such as squatting weights or leg presses. While walking does target almost all the muscles in your body, your legs are the most impacted because they are being directly worked. This increases the body's range of motion, shifting the pressure and weight from your joints to your muscles. Walking also improves your body’s endurance, which also helps the ability to engage in more physical activity without getting tired. 

Not only does walking increase fitness levels, but it also lowers the risk of diseases such as breast cancer. Harvard Medical School states women who walked seven or more hours a week had a 14% less chance of breast cancer than those who walked fewer than three hours a week. As your heart rate increases when you walk, so does your blood flow. This lowers your blood pressure, which reduces the risk of type two diabetes. Walking is a low-impact exercise, making it one of the most enjoyable ways to keep your body healthy and reduce the risk of disease. 

Another reason why walking is a great form of exercise is that it is one of the easiest exercises to lose body fat from. According to Mayo Clinic, a study showed that walking each day counteracts the effects of weight-promoting genes. Among the participants who walked briskly every day for about an hour, the effects of the gene were split in half. Walking also burns a large amount of calories which ultimately leads to weight loss. Combining daily walks with a healthy diet is one of the most efficient ways of losing body fat quickly. 

Some people argue they do not have time throughout their day to complete a 30-minute walk. However, you can take walks in 10-minute intervals throughout the day. Walking is not something that needs to be completed in one sitting like other weight-training exercises; it can be a series of different time slots added together. Whether you have a 30-minute gap in your schedule for a whole walk or only about three 10-minute gaps throughout the day, it is easy to start incorporating walking into your everyday routine. 

Overall, there are numerous benefits to walking. Burning calories, increasing fitness levels, reducing the risk of health issues and stronger muscles can all be done from just one exercise that only takes 30 minutes away from your day. Moving your body is crucial to maintain good health, and walking is one of the easiest ways to do it.