Walking is on the best forms of physical activity for practically everyone as long as you’re healthy. Unlike more strenuous exercise, you can start out at a moderate pace and work up to a brisk one or not and still get benefits for health and improving the figure. Nevertheless, if you want the most good from walking here are some exercise myths that you may not have realized that you were doing or believed.
Some people may be under the misconception walking downhill won’t help your body as much because of the slope of the terrain, which is one of those exercise myths. The truth is the speed of how fast or slow that you walk is what determines the number of calories burned and not the terrain. Therefore, if a hill is along the path that you walk, then keep on trudging because you’ll still come out ahead exercising those muscles while strengthening bones and reducing calories.
There are also some individuals that think you need to build up a sweat for exercise to count. However, walking can still do the same thing if you break into a power walk to get your heart rate up. It is the intensity of the movements that matter and not the amount of perspiration you produce. After all, you can perspire just the same by eating hot sauce, hot peppers or just being outside during hot summer days
Another of these exercise myths is that jogging does more for burning calories than what walking ever could. Contrary to what you believe, you can have just as successful results simply by speeding up your steps through power walking.
If you’re confused how to determine how fast you may be walking, then think of it this way. Moderate walking refers to the body moving at a stride fast enough that you should be able to talk but not to sing in how it relates to breathing. On the other hand, power walking will render you breathless and incapable of forming sentences.
By the same token, you may also be under the assumption that you need to rotate moderate walking with power walking to have an effective workout. However, you can still have health and fitness benefits with either choice depending on how long of a distance that you may walk for moderate walking to the speed of the walk during your power walking. Interestingly enough, some researchers believe that walker slower can play a part in the body’s pH to stimulate the glands controlling the metabolism to work harder, which translates to faster weight loss.
Another mistake is the belief that walking shapes only the lower body. Yes, it does help tone leg muscles. Yet, it does more through that exercise by targeting belly fat according to the researchers. At the same, it also has been shown to help lower blood sugar levels.
Whether you’re young or getting up there in years, walking is an important form of exercise. It can help with weight loss and figure shaping, but also for better balance, strengthening muscles and bones to the immune system, help with heart diseases, blood pressure and diabetes, energy levels to an overall mood.
