With gyms closed for another 4 days it’s the perfect opportunity to get out there and go walking or hiking!
Walking is such a great way to improve your overall health. Just because it can feel easier definitely doesn’t make it less beneficial. There is a big go hard or go home mentally out there when it comes to fitness which is just so wrong but is a point for another article….
According to the world health organisation guidelines Adults should do:
- atleast 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity (eg : walking)
- or atleast 75-150mins of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity
- Should do muscle strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week
Unfortunately in Australia only 15% of Adults are meeting both the physical activity and muscle strengthening guidelines (17% men, 14% women). This is a huge problem as everyone knows physical activity has a significant health benefit for hearts, bodies and minds
If you would like to know more about the guidelines and key areas you should focus on for your health, building a resilient mind and body check out this article https://adaptivestrength.com.au/struggling-with-you-health-focus-on-these-7-key-areas/
This brings me to a Challenge for you all! Walk atleast 10,000 steps every single day. This is fundamental for all humans at all fitness levels.
For many people this can be a daunting figure at first. Our advice is to work with what you have first and just add 500 steps. Going from 0 to 10,000 is just not practical. These guideline can be met also by adding up a small blocks through out the day- Eg 5 mins every hour
However, we know that it you’re taking fewer then 5,000 steps a day on average, this can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of bone loss, muscle atrophy and diabetes.
Studies from Professor David Bassett states that 6,000 steps and above gets you into the range that studies show protects you against cardiovascular disease and help you lose weight! From an athletic perspective people who have poor cardiovascular capacity tend to be poor walkers. A solid foundation in walking will improve cardiovascular capacity
Simply stated, walking builds a strong cardiovascular engine. By improving our aerobic capacity by walking more, we improve our ability to perform better at cardiovascular exercise, and exercise in general. Walking sets the foundation for cardiovascular capacity as well as for strength training. A stronger, more efficient heart leads to improved strength performance. It’s science. You can do more volume in less time and recover faster.
Walking more primes you to perform better, not to mention improves your overall health and longevity. Are you sold on walking 10,000 steps yet?
