Let’s All Get Walking this Summer!

I’d like to share a little more about walking, because we’ve got this challenge starting in June. Research says that the average sedentary person walks between 2,000 and 3,000 steps per day. Remember that 10,000 step program from a few years ago? That averages about 5 miles a day, if you were to take those 10,000 steps. How far do you walk every day? Do you think you walk around 5 miles in a day… this means from the minute you drop your foot on the ground when you wake up until you tuck your feet back into bed at night?

Walking is absolutely the all time favorite cardiovascular exercise. This is because we walk all the time; it’s our natural movement that allows us to get around every day. It’s something that we are all good at. So we find it a very comfortable and natural exercise when used to gain health benefits. What are some of the benefits of walking? To list a few: it burns calories, weight loss opportunities, strengthens your legs & butt, it strengthens your torso, slims your waist, its easy on the joints, it strengthens your bones, it lowers your blood pressure, helps improve your cholesterol, it reduces your potential for heart disease, it reduces stress, it helps you sleep better, it is a mood enhancer, it can be done anywhere, it requires virtually no equipment and it’s free.

So what is the scoop about these 10,000 steps? In a study that came from the University of Tennessee, Dixie L. Thompson, PhD. measured 80 women whose average age was 50. They wore a pedometer every day for a week. Her research showed that women who walked more had less body fat, lower body mass index (BMI), and lower waist/hip circumference. These three measurements are used to establish obesity levels amongst populations.

The results showed that the women who walked less than 6,000 steps had a BMI just shy of obese, they had an average of 44% body fat (which is obese), 37 inch waist, 42 inch hips and a high waist to hip ratio. The women who averaged between 6,000 and 10,000 steps had a BMI that put them in the overweight category, their body fat averaged 35%, their waists were 32 inches, their hips were 40 inches, and their hip to waist ratio was lower. The highest group who walked 10,000 steps or more had a BMI of 23, which is a normal measurement; their body fat measurements averaged 26%, a 29 inch waist, 39 inch hips, and a much lower waist-to-hip ration. This is just one example of the abundant research that supports this 10,000-step project. Every one of the research articles that I read showed that individuals who walk more have less body fat and better overall health.

Here are some tips to make your walks better:

Use good posture. Walk tall, look forward (not at the ground) about 20 feet ahead. Your chin should be level and your head up.

Keep your chest raised, and shoulders relaxed (shoulders down, back and relaxed).

Bend your arms slightly less than a 90-degree angle. Cup your hands gently. Swing arms front to back (not side to side, your arms should never cross your body.) Do not swing your elbows higher than your sternum (breast bone). Swing your arms faster and your feet will move faster.

Tighten your abs and buttocks. Flatten your back and tilt your pelvis slightly forward. This will make your movement come from your core and your hips will move the way they were naturally meant to move.

Pretend you are walking along a straight line. Resist the urge to elongate your steps. To go faster, take smaller, faster steps.

Push off with your toes. Concentrate on landing on your heel, rolling through the step and pushing of with your toes and use the natural spring of your calf muscles to propel you forward.

Breathe naturally. As you walk, take deep, rhythmic breaths, to get the maximum amount of oxygen through your system. Walk fast enough that you’re breathing is increased yet you are still not out of breath.

So let’s get started with our walking program! Beginning June 1st strap on a pedometer and start tracking your steps through the MedX summer challenge! There is one stipulation for the MedX gang and those who already workout, in order to make it fair across the board for everyone we will not count “steps taken” during your already established workout time. So take off your pedometer when you go to the gym! We want all steps above and beyond what you already do on a daily basis.

 

Deborah Holmes

May 27, 2008