There’s no shortage of encouragement to exercise, and there are just as many variations. You may have heard that you should exercise for 30 minutes a day, or just a few times a week with some rest days in between. You’ve likely heard that you should mix cardio with strength training, or that you can get a fitness tracker in order to aim for 10,000 steps per day.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of these recommendations, and easy to get discouraged if you cannot meet them. While the standard recommendation of walking is 150 minutes a week, it turns out that walking less than this amount is still beneficial to your health.
Walking Benefits
Walking is so commonly recommended by health professionals because it is effective, easy, free, good for all ages, and doesn’t require any equipment or special training. Even if you cannot fit in a long walk every day, you can still see extended benefits to your health for any amount you are able to fit in.
Walking is known to reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, and breast cancer. In studies with participants who did only moderate amounts of walking, there was still a lower risk of death when compared with those who did not participate in any physical activity at all.
Walking Tips
Try these tips to be able to fit in more walking throughout the day:
Start your day with a brisk walk, even if it’s only achieved by parking further away at work
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of these recommendations, and easy to get discouraged if you cannot meet them. While the standard recommendation of walking is 150 minutes a week, it turns out that walking less than this amount is still beneficial to your health.
Walking Benefits
Walking is so commonly recommended by health professionals because it is effective, easy, free, good for all ages, and doesn’t require any equipment or special training. Even if you cannot fit in a long walk every day, you can still see extended benefits to your health for any amount you are able to fit in.
Walking is known to reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, and breast cancer. In studies with participants who did only moderate amounts of walking, there was still a lower risk of death when compared with those who did not participate in any physical activity at all.
Walking Tips
Try these tips to be able to fit in more walking throughout the day:
Start your day with a brisk walk, even if it’s only achieved by parking further away at work
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator when you can
- Work a quick 10-minute walk into your lunch break
- Walk your dog rather than just letting him outside once you get home
- Take an evening stroll after dinner