10 Amazing Health Benefits of Walking

Walking is one of the easiest physical activities which is free, simple, and effective for health. It is a simple exercise, however, underrated as compared to other forms of exercise but doing this daily for a couple of minutes makes you feel better. Fast walking for a small distance would be better than slow walking for a long distance.

The benefits of walking every day are undeniable. This activity is easy on our joints and has multifarious health benefits.

Table of Content:

Types of Walking

Health Benefits of Walking

Recommended Steps per Day

Types of Walking

There are different ways of going for a walk. These are known as an amble, a casual stroll, a steady walk, a brisk walk, power walking, race walking, marathon walking, and nordic walking. One can try different types of walking per week. 

An Amble

An amble walk is a relaxed form of stroll like when we go on a window-shopping and are not in a rush, or when walking with no particular destination. 

Amble walking doesn't need to go out or to the gym, one can do it at home or in the office. Just giving a break from the work for 5 minutes and doing some walking is considered amble walking. Give little breaks in between sitting work - drink a glass of water or stretch the body. 

Ramblers' walk is also included in this. It doesn't give them exertion and walking around the countryside also relaxes their mind. 

A Casual Stroll

A casual stroll is a bit more than amble walking. This walking is slightly quicker and a bit longer. This type of walking is perfect for the lunchtime break when there is no glueing to screens or running errands.

A casual stroll helps in making you feel fresh. After a busy morning in the office in front of a monitor, one can go out and get some fresh air. This walk is good for both the mind & body.

A Steady Walk

A steady walk can be counted as a bit of exercise. In this, a time frame is set like 3 miles per hour but of course, it's not a rule of thumb. This walking is more than a casual stroll and one can complete different errands during this walk.

Brisk Walking

A brisk walk is a fast walking activity than a steady walk. For some, it's easy to do brisk walking but for some, this may be tiresome, depending on their stamina. The goal of brisk walking is to build stamina.

The target of 100-130 steps per minute, 15-17 minutes per mile around 3.5-4 mph is considered as moderate to vigorous brisk walking and recommended step challenge for adults aged 21-40.

So as to make an estimate of brisk walking time and distance, download the steps challenge app. This would be around 1.5-2 miles or 2.5-3.3 kilometres distance in a 30-minute walk. Brisk walking can be considered a good cardio exercise. Over time this walking helps in making the heart stronger and more efficient.

Brisk walking is better than running as it lowers the risk of heart disease more efficiently than running. Brisk walking every day keeps you healthier and stronger. It aids in toning the thighs, firming up the bum, and whittling the waist.

Power Walking

Power walking is getting more popular day by day. Power walking is quicker than brisk walking. In this walking, arms propel and it's something alternative to jogging that begins at 140 steps per minute.

Power walking is a good exercise and it is a type of fast walking that emphasises speed and arms motion. In this arms are bent at 90 degrees and pumping back and forth like a piston. There is a possibility to reach 5 mph or 1 mph in 12 minutes.

Power walking works similarly to running in burning calories for example power walking for 4.5 mph burns the same calories as 4.5 mph of jogging. Depending on your health, 60 minutes of power walking is recommended for keeping yourself fit and healthy.

Note: When feeling tired after going for power walking or brisk walking every day then you can go ambling around the mall and give yourself time to your body to recover. Also when often ambling around then give yourself a push and go for brisk walking. Resting is also important for the muscles so take a good night's sleep to heal the body.

Race Walking

Race walking comes into practice when you are used to power walking. It is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Of course, this is more than power walking and needs endurance. This is like the race walking that we watch on television. Running with speed and continuance with a competitive streak.

In this walking one foot is on the ground all the time and popular distances to cover are 10K, 20K, or can be even up to 50K. Race walking is 100 times harder than running or jogging.

Marathon Walking

Marathon walking is walking a distance of 26.2 miles in 6 to 8 hours. Some may take longer than others to complete this. Every year different countries organise marathon walking. London Marathon is famous and for public and participants' interest, it covers 26 different film set locations.

An average person takes 8 hours and 23.4 minutes to walk 26 miles so attempting a marathon without training could be troublesome. You can also participate in a walkathon. In this way, your walking can also benefit others.

Nordic Walking

Nordic walking is also known as pole walking and was first developed in Scandinavian countries. In this walking, you need to hold poles in both hands on the end of the designed handgrips to push forward. 

Nordic walking is an exercise for older people and is most popular among them as they get support from the poles. This walking helps in burning more calories than ordinary walking because you use more muscles.

Health Benefits of Walking

The benefits of walking every day are for all age groups and fitness levels. It is an important exercise that is overlooked. Walking for health is free and just giving time to a rambler's walk can give you a healthy living. The following are the amazing health benefits of walking every day.

Walking for Weight Loss and Burning Calories

Does walking help to lose weight? Yes! of course. An easy and enjoyable activity for burning calories is walking. If you want to maintain or lose weight, go walking every day. The factor contributing to burning calories in walking depends upon walking speed, distance covered, diet, health condition, terrain, and body weight.

There are different types of pedometres available in the market that can calculate calories burnt per step. These pedometres can also monitor heart rate and would be really beneficial to have if looking for fitness and weight loss. 

Now there is a question arises:

How many steps per day to lose weight? 

Well, walking 10000 steps a day burns 2000-3500 calories each week depending upon the weight and workout intensity. 10000 steps in km are equal to 8 kilometres, (about 1 hour and 40 minutes). One pound of body fat is roughly estimated to be around 3500 calories so walking 10000 steps a day loses one pound of weight each week which is ideal when aiming to slim down your body. 

You can also check Walking Workouts to get more ideas on fast walking options for weight loss. Also, find a walking trail near me on the internet, take a step challenge, and get set to go. If living in England, check Walking Britain for hiking, and exploring beautiful walking trails, and nature reserves.

Eases Joint Pain

Walking helps in easing joint and muscle pain. Swollen Knee pain is awful and hinders in day to day activities. Mild to moderate knee swelling due to osteoarthritis may get better by walking every day as it mobilises and lubricates the joints. The benefit of walking every day is building your muscles and this takes the pressure off the joints and manages more of the weight themselves - thus less knee pain. 

Multiple joint pain can be caused by inflammation. Walking can help with this condition as well. Doing vigorous physical activities can give painful joints and muscles so in this case, resting can help.

Psoriatic arthritis is a type of arthritis that affects some people having a psoriasis skin condition. This results in swollen, stiff, and painful joints and it is a long-term condition. The best endurance work or physical activities for psoriatic arthritis are walking, swimming, and bike riding. 

Strengthen the Heart

Walking is good for the heart. Walking 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week can reduce the risk of developing diseases in the heart by 19 percent. Walking for more distance and time can reduce the risk even more.

Doing brisk walking 3 or more hours a week improves cardiovascular health and reduces heart disease by 30 to 40 percent. When heart health is good then its muscles don't need to work forcefully to pump oxygen-rich blood through the body. 

Lower the Blood Pressure

Walking is one of the important exercises in lowering blood pressure. It helps in reducing blood vessel stiffness so blood can flow more easily through the vessels. 10 minutes of brisk walking at least 3 times a week would help with blood pressure. 

Low blood pressure readings are noticed right after walking so for BP patients it is recommended to do physical activities at intervals throughout the day. Diet and high blood pressure are also interlinked. There are different natural blood pressure treatments, learn more about 'Everything You Wanted to Know About How to Lower Blood Pressure [Naturally]' for useful tips.

Dangerously low blood pressure is below 90 mm Hg Systolic or 60 mm Hg low diastolic blood pressure, so keep an eye on this reading too if start fainting after physical activities.

Lower the Blood Sugar Level

Moderate or brisk walking makes the heartbeat a little faster. Muscles use more glucose sugar in the bloodstream. Going for a 20-30 minute walk 3-5 days a week aids in reducing blood sugar levels over time. It improves insulin function in the body.

Walking (easy to moderate) 15 minutes after every meal curbs sugar spikes all day. A blood sugar level of less than 140 mg/dL is considered normal. Low blood sugar reading (Hypoglycemia) is below 70mg/dL. Reading between 140-199 mg/dL indicates prediabetes and above 200mg/dL  (2 hours after the first bite of the meal) indicates diabetes (Hyperglycemia).

Improves Weak Immune System

A weak immune system makes you vulnerable to many diseases. People having a low immune system are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases, blood disorders, skin rashes, colds and flu, and so on. 

Those who do brisk walking for 30-45 minutes every day have 43 per cent fewer sick days and have lower chances of developing respiratory tract infections. People living in colder regions can run on the treadmill in the winter or when the weather is not comfortable or suitable for their health.  

Suppressed immunity or Immune deficiency is caused by smoking, alcohol addiction, poor nutrition, certain health conditions, or a poor lifestyle. This could result in recurrent pneumonia, sinus infection, ear or skin infection, digestive problems, and inflammation of internal organs. If noticing symptoms of a weak immune system, read the post, 'How to Boost Immune System Naturally'.

Boosts Energy

Walking helps in boosting energy as it increases oxygen flow through the body. Also, it increases the production of hormones that boost energy. These hormones are cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Cortisol aids the body to cope with stress. Epinephrine levels in the body improve breathing, stimulate the heart, raise dropping blood pressure, and reduce the face, lip, and neck swellings. Norepinephrine improves focus on performing tasks and memory storage.

Brisk walking or power walking is the best way to increase energy as it helps the cardiovascular system to work more efficiently which results in improving heart and lung health. When the heart and lungs are healthy then you could do more daily chores rather than burning out fast.

Improve the Mood

Languidness can badly affect mood. Walking works as a mood elevator. It is one of the stress relief activities that is so simple yet so effective. It elevates the production of serotonin in the brain and triggers its synthesis. The natural increase in serotonin in the brain stabilises mood, sense of well-being, and happiness. It is a vital hormone in the body that also helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion. The low levels of serotine give depression and have an impact on the entire body. 

Physical symptoms of stress are aching muscles, headaches, stomach soreness, faster heartbeat, sexual problems, and so on. Brisk walking can play an important role in daily stress reduction and helps you in regaining control of life.

Lower the risk of Alzheimer's

Dementia is a syndrome associated with a gradual decline in brain function. When dementia symptoms worsen over time then it becomes Alzheimer's brain disorder. This is considered an older people's disease but 5% of patients are under 65 and this is called early-onset Alzheimer's. This affects people in their 40s, 50s, and early 60s.

According to Cyrus Raji (PhD, a radiologist at the University of Pittsburgh), in cognitively normal adults, walking 6 miles a week reduces Alzheimer's risk by 50% over 13 years.

Improve Sleep

We can't ignore sleep's importance. If you have trouble sleeping then go for a brisk walk every day. This keeps you up less often at night. You sleep well when are more active during the day. Dr Carlson said that Physical activities boost natural sleep hormones such as melatonin. 

The benefits of sleep are incredible read the post, 'How to Get a Better Night's sleep' to know more useful tips on sleeping. Also bear in mind that this won't give you sleep anxiety. Only go to bed when feeling tired and need rest.

Recommended Steps per Day

Approximately a healthy adult can take between 4000 and 18000 steps a day. 10000 steps a day is considered a reasonable target for healthy adults. 

According to the American Heart Association, You need 150 minutes of active physical activities per week including brisk walking. 10000 steps ensure that you are surely exceeding the goal. If you are not very active then gradually start increasing the distance and walking speed to avoid body aching.

Did I Miss Anything? 

Now I'd like to hear from you:

What walking strategies from today's post you are going to try first?

or maybe I didn't mention one of your favourite physical activities for health.

Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

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