How much you need to walk a day to stay healthy

Сколько в день нужно ходить пешком, чтобы сохранить здоровье

Doctors consider a sedentary lifestyle to be the same dangerous factor for health as being overweight and smoking. Therefore, it is important for any modern person to know how much a day you need to walk in order to maintain your health.

Why walking, and not sports? The fact is that man is conceived by nature as an active being. In most cases, individual sports activities are simply not enough for us. In order to live a long and healthy life, you need to move a lot throughout the day. And walking — one of the most accessible and effective ways of physical activity.

Health benefits of walking and walking
10 arguments that will make you get up off your chair and go for a walk
How to walk and walk properly
3 rules to remember for those who walk
Summing up: how much you need to walk in day

Health benefits of walking and walking

Movement — that's life. The phrase, which is familiar to each of us, has solid scientific evidence behind it. A sedentary lifestyle dooms people to illness, poor health, lethargy and shortens life expectancy. Knowing this, many of us sign up to the gym and go there regularly three times a week. And in the rest of the time they continue to sit on a chair. Agree, the modern pace of life is not very conducive to long walks. Few seriously think about how much you need to walk a day. Fitness, yoga, dancing, aerobics seem to be a great solution to such a problem.

But it is not quite true. Doing sports is really beneficial. However, individual classes do not at all compensate for the fact that you move little throughout the day. The more often you get up from your chair, the better it will be for your health. And walking — it is an important part of your daily physical activity. In addition, walking may be safer than running, as it is a more natural activity for us. Walking virtually eliminates damage to ligaments and joints, so walking is good for all ages and is suitable for people with weak physical fitness.

10 arguments that will make you get up off your chair and go for a walk

While walking, different muscle groups of the legs work at the same time. This activates the blood flow, which enriches the internal organs with oxygen and speeds up the metabolism. People with a fast metabolism are less likely to be overweight.
Vessels and heart are strengthened, the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and stroke is reduced.
Improves respiratory function and reduces the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (which is especially common among smokers).
The joints, bones and spine are strengthened. Walking — excellent prevention of varicose veins and osteoporosis.
Improves the functioning of the digestive tract. Food is faster and digested better.
The aging process and the onset of dementia slow down.
Regular walks rejuvenate the body.
Reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Walking helps you stay fit
and reduces the risk of obesity.
It has a general strengthening effect
and reduces the risk of developing breast and colon cancer.
Mood is lifted
and improves mental well-being.

Specialists equate the benefits of walking with jogging. Running and walking work the same muscles, but running requires more physical preparation. Therefore, people with poor health and overweight are recommended to start with intense hiking, so as not to harm the joints and heart.

Walking can be done for different purposes: to get some fresh air or to improve your health and lose weight. Accordingly, the approaches to classes will be different.

There is an opinion that a person should walk 10 000 steps per day. This idea came to us from Japan and belongs to Yoshiro Hatano. In the 60s years of the 20th century, he invented the first electronic pedometer, which he called "manpo-kei". (in translation "pedometer 10 000"steps"). But this figure is still controversial, so scientists tend to individual approach.

For those who lead a sedentary lifestyle and just starting to walk, you should walk slowly and at a comfortable pace. Such a walk should take at least half an hour every day. The longer you can walk, the better.

When you get used to a moderate pace, you can move on to a more intense walk. It is this kind of walking that best heals and helps to lose weight. A quick step is equivalent to sports training, maintains excellent physical shape and maintains health.

For health walking, you need to walk quickly, as if you are in a hurry somewhere. Average speed — about 5-6 km / h, which is approximately equal to 90-110 steps per minute. Time — not less than half an hour, better — 1 hour.

It is recommended to cover 5 km every day at a moderate pace. And the number of steps for everyone will be different, since the step width each will have its own. A pedometer will help you determine the optimal number of steps for you (there are applications for smartphones or you can buy a fitness bracelet).

Any walk in the fresh air will benefit the body. You can stick to the standard of 10 000 steps, but don strive to go through them in one time. Allocate time for walking during the day, refuse elevators, get up from your chair every hour to warm up, walk up the stairs. Make it a rule to move more, sit less.

When you feel ready to walk harder and longer, increase your stride speed. Such walking is considered the most effective for health and rejuvenation of the body.

For those who are accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle, you should not immediately take 10 000 steps a day as your goal. Start with gradually increasing the load and focus on the characteristics of your body.