Everyone loves to tout the benefits of their own exercise program. Whether it’s high-intensity interval training or strength training or some form of aerobic exercise, their program is guaranteed to make you healthier.
There is, however, one program that has stood the test of time. It was recommended by Thomas Jefferson over 230 years ago. He said,
If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong. The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is best. I have known some great walkers and had particular accounts of many more; and I never knew or heard of one who was not healthy and long lived.
Now, I don’t know if walking is the best health protocol for both body and mind, but from my own experience and according to the scientific data, it’s certainly one of the best. Let’s see why.
Functionally, walking is easy to do. Undoubtedly, you have the necessary experience to do it. If you have a pair of running shoes, you have the necessary equipment. There is no need to join a gym or look for a partner or seek out a trainer. All you have to do is open the door, get outside, and get started. Now, I didn’t say it was easy to walk far or fast. But it is easy to get started.
Walking Gave Me My First Health Boost
About 10 years ago, I started walking as a form of therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). For 20 years prior to that, nothing had significantly helped my fatigue.
I eventually came across a theory that suggested that some individuals with CFS often have an imbalance in their parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems and one way to help rebalance them is through walking.
So I decided to try it. I started with a leisurely short stroll around the neighborhood and then gradually increased my intensity and distance. Sure enough, it worked. In about 2 months, I was up to about 1.5 miles a day, and I had regained about 20% of lost energy.
I’ve been walking ever since, usually 5 – 7 days a week for 1.75 miles at a rate of about 3.5 mph. I’m not as fast as Jefferson.
Walking As A Whole Body Elixir
Jefferson believed that walking conveyed three important health benefits. He said it was a means to good health, it promoted longevity, and it was important for a sound mind. He later told a friend, “The object of walking is to relax the mind.”
Not only was Jefferson one of the greatest political minds in our country’s history, he was also astute when it came to physical health.
Let’s see how today’s scientific data confirms what Jefferson told us about walking over 230 years ago. Read on for 10 health benefits of walking in terms of general health, as an anti-aging therapy, and its effect on cognitive health.
Walking Is Heart Healthy
It’s no mystery that walking has a positive effect on the heart and circulatory system. A public review on walking from Harvard Medical School cited a University College London study of about 460,000 participants which found that,
…Walking reduced the risk of cardiovascular events (angina, heart attack, heart failure, coronary artery bypass surgery, angioplasty, and stroke) by 31%. These benefits were equally robust in both men and women. Protection was evident even at distances of just 5½ miles per week and at a pace as casual as about 2 miles per hour. The people who walked longer distances, walked at a faster pace, or both, enjoyed the greatest protection.
So if you want to do something good for your heart, just get out there and start walking.
Walking Lowers Your Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes
The latest data from the CDC reveals that 29 million Americans have diabetes.
About 95% or 27.5 million of those people have type 2 diabetes. What’s even more disconcerting is that another 86 million adults have prediabetes. This means that their blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as type 2 Diabetes.
The CDC states that without weight loss and moderate physical activity, 15-20% of pre-diabetics will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.
Interestingly, the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed 10 studies that investigated the relationship between physical activity of moderate intensity and type 2 Diabetes. Their review included a total of 301,221 participants.
They found that those individuals who regularly engaged in physical activity of moderate intensity had about a 30% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to sedentary individuals.
They concluded that physical activities of moderate intensity such as 30 minutes of brisk walking daily could substantially reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
If you have trouble controlling glycemic spikes or simply want to improve your body’s ability to control blood glucose levels, walking is an excellent way to do it.
Walking May Reduce Body Fat
While walking may not be a muscle sculpting exercise, it can modestly reduce body fat.
Though studies concerning walking and weight loss have been inconclusive, it seems that walking may be a great way to keep a common New Year’s resolution. Here’s a study that concluded,
Inclusion of a walking program of moderate training regimen into a weight maintenance program improved maintenance of losses in weight and waist circumference.
I say give it a try.
Walking Can Give Your Immune System A Boost
If you want to give your immune system a boost, walking is the way to do it. Regular exercise can protect you against diseases associated with chronic low-grade systemic inflammation.
As little as 30 minutes a day of walking will increase the activity of neutrophils which fight bacteria and natural killer (NK) cells that aid in the defense of viruses and cancer.
But if you really want to boost your immune system, try a walk in the woods. Studies from Japan are showing that walking in the woods is extremely beneficial to our health. It seems that walking in a forest setting significantly increases NK killer cell activity.
It appears that trees and other plants release chemicals called phytoncides. This chemical, while protecting plants from harmful pathogens, increases the number of NK cells by influencing intracellular anti-cancer proteins in humans. Wow, that should make us thankful for the wonderfully designed ecosystem we inhabit!
Okay, these are some pretty impressive health benefits. Let’s see how walking can increase longevity.
Brisk Walking May Help You Live Longer
A recent study by Cambridge University in England of over 334,000 European men and women found that a brisk 20-minute walk every day could be enough to reduce your risk of early death.
The researchers estimated that engaging in exercise equivalent to just a 20-minute brisk walk each day (burning between 90 and 110 kilocalories) would take an individual from the inactive to the moderately inactive group and reduce their risk of premature death by between 16-30%. The impacts were greater for those of normal body weight but those of higher BMI also showed a benefit.
Another recent study done by researchers pooling data from 6 ongoing studies of 661,000 individuals over a 14 year time period found that those who completed just 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise,
…enjoyed greater longevity benefits and 31 percent less risk of dying during the 14-year period compared with those who never exercised.
How fast is a brisk walk? The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that a brisk walking pace is about 20 minutes per mile or 3 miles per hour. A brisk walk is also considered a moderate intensity workout. The CDC defines this as being 50% – 70% of an individual’s maximum heart rate.
To determine your maximum heart rate, click here.
Okay, walking can make you healthier and increase your lifespan. Let’s see what it can do for your cognitive health.
Walking Will Make You Smarter
Walking will kind of make you smarter. Research indicates that walking produces numerous cognitive benefits.
Walking 30 minutes a day for most days of the week can protect your memory and thinking skills. See here, here, and here. Walking can also improve the cognitive performance and academic skills of pre-adolescents.
Interestingly, one study revealed that older adults who engaged in 40 minutes of brisk walking 3 times a week for one year showed an increase in the size in an area of the brain called the hippocampus and also improved memory.
The hippocampus is one of the first areas of the brain that suffers damage in Alzheimer’s disease. As one who has witnessed the debilitating effects of Alzheimer’s on a family member, if brisk walking may protect against it, I’m all for it.
Walking Reduces Stress
Moderate exercise, including brisk walking, stimulates the production of endorphins. These chemicals produced in the brain and other parts of the central nervous system are your body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators.
Have you ever heard of a “runner’s high”? This is caused by a release of endorphins in the brain. Naturally, if we feel good, we won’t have as much stress.
Also, exercise appears to optimize the functioning of your hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal gland axis (HPA axis). The HPA axis activates during times of stress. If it’s chronically activated, a condition called adrenal fatigue can result.
Since walking is exercise, it may do a lot to minimize stress on your adrenals.
One further detail about walking and stress. Remember I said walking in a wooded setting is good for your health? Well, it appears it’s also good for stress. See here.
Walking Gives Us A Chance To Think
The ancients had a Latin phrase about the importance of walking: Solvitur Ambulando. It means, “It is solved by walking.” The term originally referred to the Greek philosopher Diogenes’ response when asked whether or not motion was real.
In response, he stood up and walked away. Soon the phrase was adopted as a way to summarize how taking a walk outside energizes us and helps us think through our problems.
While walking, we have time to think up solutions to problems, come up with ideas, and strategize. The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once mused, “I have walked myself into my best thoughts.”
Walking Gives Us A Chance Not To Think
As I mentioned, Thomas Jefferson believed that walking not only contributed to bodily health but to mental health as well. He wrote,
The object of walking is to relax the mind. You should therefore not permit yourself even to think while you walk. But divert your attention by the objects surrounding you.
Walking gives us an opportunity to tune out from the stress and confusion of the day. It allows our minds to rest.
My Key Walking Tips
If you don’t have the time to spend a half to an hour walking, you can split up your walk.
A recent study has shown that 30 minutes of walking broken up into 10-minute segments may convey the same benefits as one 30 minute session. See here and here.
That means if you don’t have a lot of spare time, you can walk shorter intervals before work, during breaks, or after work, and still get excellent benefits. You just have to look for those 10 minutes here and there.
If you can afford it, get a treadmill. I’ve had one for at least 10 years. This is the one I currently have.
For me, a treadmill is a necessity. You’ve probably heard of the dangers of prolonged sitting. Having a treadmill gives me the ability to get up from my desk and do some brisk walking without leaving the house.
Also, I really dislike walking outside when it’s cold (that’s anything less than 50° Fahrenheit). Yes, I’m a warm weather person. So during the winter months, I’ll just hop on the treadmill to get in a comfortable mile and a half.
For me, walking has been an important piece of the puzzle in restoring my health. How about you? Do you walk every day? What has been your experience with walking? I hope this post has encouraged you to walk more.
Remember to only engage in exercise if your doctor says it’s okay. Thanks for reading.
Work Out – Week of 8/14/2017
Body Weight: 170.0
Monday
Barbell Bench Press (Reset 185#)
45.0# 1 x 5 (warm-up)
75.0# 1 x 5 (warm-up)
92.5# 1 x 5 (warm-up)
110.0# 1 x 2 (warm-up)
130.0# 1 x 3 (70%)
147.5# 1 x 3 (80%)
165.0# 1 x 4 (90%)
Dumbbell Rows
37.5# 1 x 10 x 3
Cardio: 30 min outdoors walk
Tuesday
Barbell Back Squats (Base weight 193#)
77.5# 1 x 5 (warm-up)
95.0# 1 x 5 (warm-up)
115.0# 1 x 2 (warm-up)
145.0# 1 x 5 (75%)
165.0# 1 x 3 (85%)
182.5# 1 x 2 (95%)
Cardio: 30 min outdoors walk
Wednesday
Rest
Cardio: 30 min outdoors walk
Thursday
A.M – Stretching (back and neck)
Overhead Press Dumbbell
20.0# 1 x 8 (warm-up)
35.0# 1 x 8 x 3
Tricep Extensions
50.0# 1 x 8 x 3
Cardio: 30 min outdoors walk
Friday
Cardio: 30 min outdoors walk
Saturday
A.M – Stretching (back and neck)
Barbell Deadlift (Base weight 310#)
125.0# 1 x 5 (warm-up)
155.0# 1 x 5 (warm-up)
185.0# 1 x 2 (warm-up)
232.5# 1 x 5 (75%)
262.5# 1 x 3 (85%)
292.5# 1 X 1 (95%)
Cardio: 30 min outdoors walk
Sunday
Cardio: 30 min outdoors walk
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