Want to exercise, but don’t want to bother using special equipment or going to an expensive gym? Brisk walking can be your choice. As foreign as it may sound, this type of exercise is like quick walking.
Walking with quicker tempo. It’s a natural method to make your body healthier, just the same as having the health benefits of walking 6 km a day. Besides being simple, you can do this sport alone, with a partner, or with your family. Sounds fun, isn’t it?
Brisk walking is a type of exercise where you walk faster, although not as fast as running. The speed rule for this training is one kilometer in 12 minutes or a distance of 5 kilometers in one hour.
You can calculate your running speed with the help of a sports watch or the app on your phone. It’s not that tiring, yet having almost the same benefits of walking 60 minutes a day that can be done pretty easily.
You can do this sport anytime, on holidays or after work. You just need to set your time and your steps. To increase the speed of walking, the key is to position the body, steps, and movements of the hands and feet in sync. As you walk, keep track of your foot rhythm to make it more enjoyable.
1. Improve heart health
Just like the benefits of grounding walking, you can improve your heart’s health by doing a light brisk walking. It’s not a hard thing to do, and not even that demanding either.
However, Brisk walking can reduce bad cholesterol in the body and protect the heart from disease. It helps in improving your cardiovascular health by strengthening your lungs, muscles and heart. Walking fast also pumps blood flow to all your body systems.
2. Make Yourself Happier
One of the health benefits of morning walking is to release some stress. Brisk walking can do the same thing. A study states that regular brisk walking has the potential to improve mood.
In addition, this exercise can also help overcome depression. Walking in a garden surrounded by greenery and fresh air has proven to be effective in providing a relaxing effect, relieving anxiety, and can help you sleep better.
Find the best place to surround your area. Surely, you can find a sweet spot for a calming activity like this. Even though it’s good for a while, make sure that you make a routine specially made for brisk walking.
Pick weekends or any particular free days for this activity. It’s a good way to release your stress, while staying healthy at the same time.Â
Walking is even better when accompanied with friends or partner. Making your excercising session more enjoyable.
3. Reducing Dementia Risk
Walking activities, both fast and relaxed, that are done regularly can increase blood flow to the brain and reduce the risk of vascular disease. In fact, according to research, walking regularly can reduce the risk of developing dementia and help maintain brain function in old ages.
That’s why, it’s always recommended to exercise a bit in the form of fast walking or quick running for maintaining the brain’s capability. It’s a totally free way to make your memory stronger.
4. Help to Control Diabetes
Brisk walking of 20-30 minutes a day can help lower blood sugar levels. In addition, brisk walking that is carried out regularly has the opportunity to get the ideal body weight. Both of these are important aspects in helping to prevent and manage diabetes.
5. Prevent Osteoarthritis
Walking is a form of weight training that is great for bones and muscles. Walking is also a positive activity that can help to keep cartilage healthy. This is useful in order to prevent weakening of bones or osteoporosis.
This routine activity is also useful for preventing aging-related diseases in the form of painful, swollen, and stiff joints, which we commonly call as osteoarthritis.
6. Improve sexual health
Is a sex is a bit problematic due to some problems, brisk walking is a good thing to do. Walking makes blood circulation in the body increase which can also reduce the chances of impotence or low sexual desire.
Things to Note
When you do brisk walking as an exercise for the first time, it’s normal for the shins to feel a bit sore. This condition will usually disappear if you get used to it. Therefore, do warm-up exercises before starting the exercise.
The more often you do the exercises, you can increase the speed of your footsteps and train your breathing even better. To keep your body fit and healthy, do this exercise for 150 minutes every week.
For an optimal brisk walking, choose the right shoes to protect your feet. It’s a significant item to prevent the harmful side effects, almost the same as the side effects of walking on concrete.
Apart from shoes, it is recommended that the clothes are always adjusted to the weather for the comfort of the wearer. If you’re exercising outdoors at night, it’s best to wear brightly colored clothing or a reflector to make it easier for other people to spot you.
Before brisk walking, you should warm up enough for at least 5-10 minutes. Warming up these muscles is useful for preparing the body for more active movements and avoiding injury.
When brisk walking is nearing the end, reduce the intensity of this exercise by doing a leisurely walk. Strolling for 5-10 minutes can help the muscles that were hot to cool down.