Walk This Way for Your Health

Walking is a great form of exercise that many people take for granted. Too many people think that in order to get fit, thin or healthy, they have to participate in rigorous, or extremely difficult exercise regimes with fancy equipment, trainers, and so on. This is simply not the case. You can walk your way to a healthy new you. The following are five great tips to make that easy.

Tip one: Join a walking group. Walking on a regular basis (meaning every day) has enormous amounts of benefits for your health. Numerous studies have shown that walking reduces chances for cancer, increases your metabolism, helps with blood sugar and insulin control, and many other health benefits. However, sometimes it is difficult to get yourself out the door to go for a walk, despite the pros of doing so. So, join a group that will motivate you to get out the door.

Tip two: Carry a water bottle. While walking is a great way to get fit with low impact exercise, and no necessary equipment or training, it can be potentially harmful if you take long walks and do not stay properly hydrated. In addition to helping you stay hydrated, a water bottle can act as a weight to help you get a slightly harder workout in.

Tip three: Wear sunscreen. Walking offers many benefits including lengthening your potential lifespan, but that is not going to be the case if you die from skin cancer. So, when you are out walking your way to a healthier new you, then be sure to wear sun screen and a hat to keep yourself from getting harmful side effects of going out on walks.

Tip four: Wear a heart rate monitor. One reason many people do not think that walking is very good exercise is because they are not walking far enough, fast enough, or with enough regularity for it to make a difference for them. So, to help yourself see yourself getting more fit, and to help get yourself motivated to get out there and push yourself, buy a heart rate monitor and track it. Write down your heart rate when you walk, and keep track of how high it gets and how far you go. Then, as you continue to do the exercise, notice how you can walk further, faster, and harder before reaching the same heart rate. This is a great motivational tool to get you out there and walking. In addition, it helps you see when you are going too slow to get any real benefit.

Tip five: Invest in some comfy shoes. Walking is a great form of exercise and makes for a great way to get to be a healthy new you because you do not have to join an expensive gym, purchase any special equipment, or hire anyone to teach you how to do it right, but that does not mean you do not need anything. You can protect your shins, legs, knees, and ankles from injury by purchasing some comfortable and supportive walking shoes. You will be able to go further, and not have your feet aching. You also will not suffer injury from poor or unsupporting footwear.