Why Walking Matters

Why Walking Matters

You have probably heard that walking around 10,000 steps a day is good for you. But why?

Daily movement it’s going to make most of the movement in your day. You can schedule a workout and do it for an hour, and it is great for you! But what happens with the rest of the day?

If you spend most of the day sitting down, you are missing out on a lot of benefits that come just from walking.

Walking increases blood flow throughout the body, which helps deliver nutrients to muscles and joints for repair and reduces muscle soreness by clearing out metabolic waste.

Walking between 8k and 10k steps per day can be very beneficial for weight loss as well. It can burn more than 3000 calories! So even if you start with small increments that add up over time, you will still get some of the benefits.

Ultimately, your goal is to stay active, not to rely only on your 2 or 3 workouts per week. What you do outside of the gym is equally important. You could play sports, or find another activity that’s not walking but keeps you moving. Walking is just accessible for most people and requires little to do it, which means not a lot of barriers for you to get it done.

If you are new to this and it’s a little intimidating, here are some targets to aim for:

-          Start by tracking your steps. You can use a watch or a step counter on your phone. Take note of how many steps you averaged in one week

-          The second week, your goal can be to average 500-1000 steps more than he week before.

-          Keep working until you reach an amount that is sustainable for you. If you reach 8.5-10k, great! If it is less than that, also great!

Remember, ultimately the goal is to keep you moving during the day. If a step counter is not accessible, just track time. Start by walking 10 minutes, then 15, 20, 30 and so on until you find what’s right for you at this moment. Chances are that with time, you will be able to walk a little more.