Walking is a simple exercise. It’s ideal for individuals or when practiced in groups. It provides well-being for all without the potential for injuries prevalent in more intense activities. In Southwest Florida, area gyms and fitness centers feature treadmills and walking tracks. Area trails and pathways are numerous.
Founded in 1992, the Naples Walking Club embraces all practitioners. It incorporates exercise with social activities in scheduled walks several times a week, with a goal of helping alleviate health issues associated with inactive lifestyles.
A sedentary life affects 25% of U.S. adults who sit for longer than eight hours daily, according to the American Heart Association. That can have severe negative effects on physical and mental health.
“Heart disease can affect everyone,” says Janeth P. Castrejon, spokeswoman for the American Heart Association of Southwest Florida. “Staying healthy and being mindful of your body can help you decrease the negative effects of AFib (Atrial fibrillation) or any cardiovascular disease that you can encounter at any age.”
Furthermore, regular walking is among the least potentially detrimental exercises, and with the most benefits. A recent Harvard University study examined those benefits; it detailed that maintaining a moderate pace of 3 mph (a 20-minute per mile pace) for about three hours per week can reduce heart disease in women by as much as 40%, and in men by nearly the same amount.
Consistent walking workouts also combat depression, bolster the immune system, improve circulation and breathing, control weight and prevent osteoporosis. The AHA touts walking as beneficial to helping improve blood lipid profiles and mental well-being, reducing breast cancer, colon cancer and non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes.
“It’s amazing what walking can do for the body, including cardiovascular health and brain health,” says Castrejon.
The benefits of exercise will be sharply in focus April 2 during National Walking Day.
According to healthline.com in San Francisco, walking properly involves the entire body, with focus required on each part of the body and starting with the correct posture.
An ideal start is to keep your head up. Focus on standing tall when you begin your walk. Keep your chin parallel to the ground and your ears aligned above your shoulders. Keep your eyes gazing forward and focus on an area about 10 to 20 feet ahead of you while you walk.
Focus on elongating your spine while you walk. Try to avoid slouching, hunching or leaning forward, which can put stress on your back muscles. Keeping your shoulders down and back erect is integral to improving and maintaining walking posture and technique.
For proper shoulder alignment while walking, bring your shoulders up high in a shrug-like motion, then let them fall and relax. Using shoulder shrugs helps relieve tightness or tension, and puts your shoulders in a natural position that allows you to move your arms easily.
Core muscles also play an important role in fitness walking. With every step, focus on tightening and engaging core muscles by pulling your navel toward your spine. It helps maintain balance and stability and can release stress and pressure on your back. Gently swinging your arms back and forth at your sides is equally important. Make sure you swing your arms from your shoulders, not from your elbows.
Maintain a steady heel-to-toe gait. This involves striking the ground with your heel first, then rolling through your heel to your toe, and pushing out of the step with your toe. Avoid flat-footed steps or striking the ground with your toes first. Walking with the correct gait and posture isn’t difficult, but it may take practice. If unsure, contact a sports medicine physician, physical therapist or exercise expert about ways to learn the walking technique.
And, of course, determining where to walk is an integral component of the exercise’s appeal. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on a treadmill, at an indoor or outdoor track, in a park or around a lake — walkers who like where they’re exercising will likely return.
