Brisk walking to better health

Dr Punatar

What you need to know:

Brisk walking 4-5 times a week can help prevent or delay osteoporosis [when bones become weak and brittle] in menopausal women.

Just like the saying goes, anything good done in the beginning of the day brings a positive outcome.
For years, health and fitness personnel have advocated regarding early morning workouts especially ‘brisk walks’.
Brisk walking refers to walking at a pace fast enough to raise one’s heart rate but not too fast to cause someone to go out of breath.
Numerically speaking, 80-100 steps per minute is considered as moderate intensity brisk walking.

Brisk walk is a great workout
There are numerous benefits of going for long brisk walks early in the morning and starting your day with that.
Walks in general play a major role in strengthening bones, muscles and joints. The oxygen that you take in early in the morning gives you great amount of energy especially to your joints.
Several studies have proven that brisk walking 4-5 times a week can help prevent or delay osteoporosis [when bones become weak and brittle] in menopausal women. Brisk walking in the open is easier on the joints and body as compared to higher intensity work outs like - running on the treadmill or aerobics, thus, reducing risk of falls and injuries.
Brisk walking helps to increase blood circulation two-folds in the body, which allows good blood flow to major organs in the body and also flow of oxygen and nutrients to all vital parts of the body that facilitate our functioning.
The American Heart Association (AHA) claims that 40-50 minutes of brisk walking three and more times a week reduces the chance of suffering heart attacks and strokes by more than 80 per cent in both men and women.
Psychologically, starting your day with a brisk walk in the open with fresh air around you, helps to boost one’s mood and also increases one’s focus and concentration at work and other activities conducted through the day.
People who have chronic diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and even elevated cholesterol levels have benefitted from frequent brisk walks as it enables the body to use up excessive sugar in the form of energy.
Last but not the least and the most eye-grabbing benefit of early morning brisk walking: weight loss. It may seem like a leisurely activity, but with the right intensity, it can elevate your heart rate and burn serious calories, so you can reach and maintain a healthy weight and physique.

Make it a habit
When I started early morning brisk walks, I found it difficult to push myself out of bed every morning. But, after a month of doing it, I saw a major change in my mood, I could concentrate better at work, my energy levels increased and most importantly, I was sleeping a lot better and more soundly.
So start today, push yourself and your partner out of bed early in the morning and after 21 days of daily early morning brisk walks, you will realise that it was the best decision you took for a healthy mind, body, heart and soul.