In the Philippines, no one likes to walk—we don’t like the sun, we don’t like the dogs, we don’t like to be hot when we arrive at our destination. We don’t like the dirt and the pollution. Instead of our two legs, we use jeeps, buses, trikes, and sky trains. But walking is something that can help us maintain our health and our desired weight.
What is it about walking that makes it more successful than other exercises? Part of it is the simplicity. Everyone can walk. It’s so easy, in fact, that some people are skeptical about whether you can really get in shape by just walking. But studies are confirming what I’ve suspected all along; walking is excellent exercise.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, walking just thirty minutes a day, three times a week, reduces the risk of death from all natural causes by 55 percent! Walking also keeps you in midrange of aerobic activity, where fat oxidation is most efficient. That’s right: you burn more fat through low intensity sports like walking than through intense activities that leave you gasping for breath, such as weightlifting or high-energy aerobics. Not only that, but you also continue to burn fat after walking. And once you’ve been walking for a few weeks, you’ll have raised your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories all the time, even when you’re sitting or sleeping!
Then there are the things that don’t happen when you’re walking. You don’t crash. You don’t get injured. You don’t compete against someone else.
You also don’t go broke. Too many people are hesitant to start exercising because they think it will be expensive and intimidating. Not a problem. Just lace up a decent pair of sneakers in your living room and you’re ready to walk.
“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He directs every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Psalm 37:23-24
(excerpted from Walk Away the Pounds by Leslie Sansone) reprinted with permission from http://www.ampforlife.com/emails/newsletters/EX08S/index.htm
Reprinted from Moms, building the best families, Vol. 5/Issue 17/2008
