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Walking is having a moment: People have fallen back in love with the simple form of movement for the accessibility and mental health benefits. But many of my clients ask me: Does walking count as exercise? If that’s all I do, is it good enough?
My answer is always a resounding “Yes!”
Walking often gets a bad rap as being not intense enough to create real change or a cop-out from more effective forms of exercise. As the amazing transformations coming out of our Start TODAY walking group prove, this is entirely false!
And you don’t even have to walk that far to start reaping the benefits. A new analysis published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that walking 4,000 steps a day started to reduce the risk of dying from any cause, while walking just 2,337 steps a day reduced the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
But don’t let that limit you, the study also showed that the more you walk, the greater the benefit. And every little bit counts: With every 500 to 1000 extra steps walked, the risk of dying from any cause or cardiovascular disease went down significantly. Which means that extra walk around the block at lunch time or after dinner can really have a big impact.
Health benefits of walking
Taking a walk is stress reducing, enjoyable and good for your health. So why not use it as your workout of choice? Over time, walking consistently may help improve heart health and reduce body fat. About 30 minutes of walking a day can help you make progress toward your weight loss and fitness goals. Plus, it’s a comfortable and familiar form of exercise that can be done anywhere with no equipment — and it is a great active social activity, too!
Of course, there are ways to up the intensity of your walk and modify your plan to reach specific goals. If you’re looking to lose weight or tone specific…
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