Add miles to your daily routine, and you’ll find yourself healthier and maybe a little thinner.
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Walking offers a win-win exercise plan. A path to physical fitness that virtually any woman can follow, it has been proven to lower the risk of a whole range of health problems; and it can help with weight control, a daily struggle for millions of women.
A fast food chain recently launched a novel promotion: a happy meal equivalent for adults with a twist. Inside the box was a healthy meal and a pedometer. When even the fast food chains are nudging you to start walking and undo the damage of all those burgers and fries, you know it’s time to hit the pavement.
Whether you get it in a happy meal or buy one at the drug store, a pedometer can be a great incentive either for starting or jump starting a walking program. Clip a pedometer on your belt or waistband above the hip, and it will count the steps you take in a day.
Logging the number of steps you walk each day for a week will raise your awareness of just how much or how little exercise you really get. Most of us will probably find out that we get far less exercise than we think.
The point is not to become demoralized about our sedentary lives but to use the information to jump start our routine. One suggested target is 10,000 steps per day or about five miles–an activity level that reaps both health benefits and weight loss. This might sound like a lot, especially if your pedometer tells you you’re only covering 2,000 steps per day.
Create a plan to increase your daily mileage. Be realistic, especially if you’re overweight or not very fit. You might start by adding 2,000 steps, about a mile. If you walk it briskly you can squeeze it into 15 minutes. At a slower pace it will take you 20 minutes. Once you’re comfortable and consistent with that level, add another 2,000 steps. Keep adding until you reach 10,000 steps (or whatever goal you set for yourself).
The beauty of walking is that you can break your target distance into a number of shorter, more manageable spurts. Perhaps you could walk one mile to and from work, take a 15-minute walk as part of your lunch break and a 30-minute walk with your husband or neighbor after dinner.
Adding miles to your daily routine is a way to lose weight and inches without dieting. A woman who weighs 145 pounds will use about 80 calories per mile walking at a 15-minute pace. If she adds four miles a day, that adds up to 320 calories. If she maintains those miles over 10 days, she’ll have used 3,200 calories, the equivalent of one pound. In a month that will add up to three pounds; in six months, 18 pounds. No one is claiming that this is an effortless way to lose weight, but it is an attainable goal for most women.
There are countless studies that attest to the ability of walking to protect against many diseases that affect women including osteoporosis, breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.
A study of 18 postmenopausal women who participated in a 15-week walking program concluded that women walking a little less than two miles at least five days per week had significant improvement in bone mineral density. Preserving and increasing bone mineral density protects women from osteoporosis.
Data from the Women’s Health Initiative showed that women who walked briskly for one and a quarter to two and a half hours per week decreased their risk of breast cancer by 18 percent compared with the rate for inactive women.
More data from the Women’s Health Initiative study which collected information from 73,743 women age 50 to 79 for 3.2 years found that women who walked at least two and a half hours per week lowered their risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke by one third compared with women who did not walk.
Women at the highest level of walking and vigorous exercise had the greatest benefit, a reduced risk of about two thirds compared with sedentary women.
Walking, as well as other forms of regular exercise, is also known to lower the risk of adult onset diabetes, improves symptoms of depression and relieves psychological and physical stress.
There are countless reasons to walk and few compelling reasons not to, except inertia. Walking can be done inside or out, alone or with friends, requires no special equipment or skills and it can help keep our hearts, minds and bodies feeling and looking younger. Dare to take that first step. You might be surprised how quickly the next 10,000 will follow.
Walking Protects Hips
The ongoing Nurses’ Health Study, which has compiled data on 21,700 female nurses since 1976, found that women who were the most active had the lowest risk of hip fracture.
What surprised researchers, however, was that, although hormone replacement therapy lowered the risk of hip fracture in sedentary women, it made little difference to the level of protection enjoyed by the most active women.
Women with higher body mass indexes also had a lower risk of hip fracture compared with thinner women.
The good news for women is that staying active offers a level of protection from hip fracture comparable to taking hormone therapy but without the unwanted side effects associated with hormone use.
[SOURCE: “Walking and Leisure-Time Activity and Risk of Hip Fracture in Postmenopausal Women,” OB/GYN Clinical Alert, February, 2003]
To Stay Motivated:
Vary Your Walks
Don’t let your walking program get sidetracked by boredom. There are a number of things you can do to keep your workouts fun and focused:
· Measure a number of routes so you can vary your routine.
· Set mini speed goals along your route.
· Try to beat yesterday’s time.
· Enter a walking race or a walk for charity.
· Plan a walking vacation and train for it. Options include hiking a trail, city historic walking tours, or following a bed and breakfast walking route.
Hit the Trail
If you’re adding miles to your daily routine by walking to work, using a treadmill or hustling up stairs and along corridors in your office building, reward your efforts with a weekend hike to a state park or wilderness area near you.
To explore the possibilities, log on to trails.com where you can download trail maps for your area. Bookstores also sell state maps and hiking guides that detail trails in the state or region.
Be sure to take a map, water, high energy snacks, insect repellent, a hat, rain poncho and a first aid kit in a small day pack if you’re planning a day hike. A cell phone for emergency use adds a layer of protection.
Wear comfortable, supportive shoes and plan for a distance you know you can handle on your first outing. You can build up to more challenging hikes as your fitness level increases.
Walking Makes Arteries
Younger, Fitter
Women who walk for fitness soon start to notice their bodies looking younger and fitter. What’s not so apparent is that walking also makes a woman’s arteries younger and fitter, better able to pump blood and contribute to overall good health.
A study of 24 women over age 60 who walked for 40 minutes a day on five days a week found that after 12 weeks they had improved the elasticity of their arteries so much that their vessels were functioning at the level of a 28 year old.
The 24 women in this study were all taking hormone replacement therapy, but previous studies have demonstrated that exercise alone can improve the elasticity of arteries by 35 percent. The more elastic the arteries, the better able the body is to deliver blood to tissues. Stretchier arteries also means a lower risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack.
[SOURCE: Maggie Spilner and Marianne McGinnis, “Erase 30 Years in 3 Months,” Prevention, October 2002]
A Change of Pace
If you’re pressed for time and still want to get in a good workout, or if you just want a change of pace, here are a few activities that are roughly equal to 30 minutes of walking at a 15 minute-per-mile pace:
· 11 minutes of jumping rope
· 13 minutes of jogging at a 10 minute-per-mile pace
· 19 minutes of swimming
· 24 minutes of riding a bike at a moderate pace
· 27 minutes of doubles tennis.
[SOURCE: “Balancing Activities,” U.S. News and World Report, December 23, 2002]
Water Walking
Walking in water is a great low impact exercise for anyone, but may be especially well suited for those who may have pain or difficulty with balance.
Walking in a cold water pool is a good exercise option for some women with MS. A classic symptom of MS is sensitivity to heat so walking in cold water can make exercise more bearable. It also addresses the risk of injury from falls resulting from poor coordination.
Walking in a warm pool is a good option for women with arthritis. Muscles and joints are kept warm, and water exercise is low impact for tender joints.
[SOURCE: Cay Butler, “Walking In Water,” Inside MS, Summer, 2002]
REFERENCES:
“Activity and Risk of Breast Cancer,” The Lancet, September 13, 2003.
Mary Hunter Austin and Maggie Powers, “Take the 10-G Challenge: It’s More than Just Walking,” Diabetes Forecast, September 2003.
Debbie Fentress, “Best Foot Forward,” Diabetes Forecast, September 2003.
I-Min Lee, “Physical Activity in Women: How Much is Good Enough?” JAMA, September 10, 2003.
John Jakicic et al, “Effect of Exercise Duration and Intensity on Weight Loss in Overweight, Sedentary Women,” JAMA, September 10, 2003.c
Anne McTiernan et al, “Recreational Physical Activity and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women: the Women’s Health Initiative Cohort Study,” JAMA, September 10, 2003.
Janos Porszasz et al, “A Treadmill Ramp Protocol Using Simultaneous Changes inSpeed and Grade,” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,” September 2003.
Shauna Roberts, “More Than Ever, Walking is a Great Exercise Choice,” Diabetes Forecast, April 2003.
Linda Shelton and Rachel Dowd,. “100 Things You Need to Know About Walking, Running, Hiking and Trekking,” Natural Health, April 2004.
“Walking 10,000 Steps May Require Exercise,” Obesity, Fitness and Wellness Week, March 6, 2004.
Bill Zepf, “Walking vs. Vigorous Exercise for Heart Health in Women,” American Family Physician, February 1, 2003.
