Weinrauch recommends incorporating strength training into your schedule, too. And if you do have more than 150 minutes per week to dedicate to a fitness regimen, Dr. When you're first getting started, don't fret about the numbers on your fitness watch. Put simply: Walking is an excellent and easy way to look after both your physical and mental health. That way, your walk also doubles as a strength training session. "Brisk walking, and more specifically, walking with incline, torches calories and builds and strengthens the muscles in your posterior chain, AKA the muscles from your calves up to your back," New York Road Runners coach, Roberto Mandje, previously told Well+Good. You can also add even more of a challenge to your walking regimen by taking on the hills in your neighborhood. (Although, it's worth mentioning that those moderate-pace walkers also benefited greatly from their regimens in the same study.) For example, a study of 13,535 nurses 70 years and older found that brisk walkers (or women who moved at a clip of about three miles per hour) were 2.68 times more likely to age healthily than those who walked at a moderate pace. Weinrauch mentioned at the beginning, these benefits happen on a sliding scale. When you press the pedal on your pace, you experience all the aforementioned benefits (stress relief, cardiovascular fitness, and so on), but more so. Meaning, you could power walk 30 minutes per day, five days a week and hit your aerobic quota-a total win for your health. government recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (or 30 minutes, five days a week), 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent combination of the two," says Dr. One great thing about moderate to vigorous walking is that it meets the criteria for the government's recommended moderate-intensity aerobic activity. "Similarly with vigorous-intensity activity, one would need to pause for a breath after uttering only a few words." So if it would take a Sisyphean effort to sing along to the Lil Nas X song on your walking playlist, congratulations, you've officially crossed over the threshold into power walking (or fast walking). "Typically, with moderate-intensity activity, you would be able to talk, but not sing the words to a favorite song," he explains. Weinrauch defines power walking as walking that requires moderate or vigorous effort. The takeaway: If you're just getting started, a slow walk will give you the most benefits until you've raised your fitness and your body is ready for the next challenge. It improves cardiovascular fitness, cardiovascular risk, glycemic control, stress levels, and may help prevent dementia," says Dr. "Regular walking has plenty of health benefits. Once this level is achieved, they can then ramp up the intensity to gain even more benefit."īut if you're just getting started with walking, there's no need to worry about accelerating your pace. ![]() "If they are completely sedentary, they should build up to this level slowly. "I tell patients who do not regularly exercise to make sure they're walking 30 minutes a day uninterrupted on most days of the week," he says. ![]() ![]() Weinrauch works with patients with sedentary lives, he always suggests slow walking to start. Bear that in mind before you stress about the cadence of your steps, okay? The benefits of walking at a normal pace "Slow and fast walking definitely impact the body differently, but what’s most important to keep in mind is that it is all a matter of degree," says Dr. ![]() (In fact, some research shows that a walk that varies in pace from speedy to ambling comes with its own share of benefits). So before we take a deep dive into the major benefits of slow walking and power walking, just remember that you don't need to pit the two against one another. Michael Weinrauch, MD, New Jersey-based cardiologist.
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