Walking Does A Body Good!

by Dr. Brett L. Lukert, DC

Sometimes you hear people say they love going places to "people watch." One activity I particularly enjoy is watching healthy people, particularly when they are exercising. This is one of the reasons why the Kansas high school state track meet in Wichita is so much fun to watch. It is one of the very few places you can look around and see healthy "in shape" kids virtually everywhere.

With that being said, obviously you don't have to drive three hours to see healthy people. In fact, our community does much better than most when it comes to exercise. There are very few times of the year when you drive around Sabetha and don't see people walking, jogging, biking, and attending fitness classes. It's hard to fathom that only three percent of Americans actually exercise an hour a week. Even though we have plenty of room for improvement, I am proud to say our community is much more "exercise oriented" than the national average.

While there are many exercise options available, if we could choose only one form of exercise that we could do as we age, it would have to be walking. According to Hippocrates, "walking is man's best medicine." Walking burns calories, improves fitness and is not harmful to our joints. In fact, walking is a form of "weight-bearing" exercise that is very helpful and necessary for keeping our bones strong as we get older.

Besides lowering blood pressure and decreasing the risk for cancer, heart disease and stroke, walking 150 minutes a week and losing seven percent of our body weight can also reduce diabetes by 58 percent. Walking also improves cognitive functioning, decreases stress and reduces the incidence of depression by almost 50 percent. Can anyone think of a reason not to be walking?!

Before starting a walking regime, here are a few health tips to consider:

•  Have an exercise plan complete with specific goals (for accountability and motivation).
•  Get fitted with the proper shoes (stability, neutral or motion control).
•  Find out at what intensity (heart rate) you should be exercising to maximize your benefit. This will vary depending on your level of conditioning, but your APMHR (Age Predicted Maximum Heart Rate) is a good place to start and can easily be calculated. This will help you find the ideal range for your heart rate when walking. Consult your doctor for recommendations.
•  Invest in a heart rate monitor.
•  Dress in layers and use modern running socks made from CoolMax or other high-tech fibers rather than cotton to help avoid blisters.
•  Bring water to drink, if you plan on walking longer than 30 minutes.

Walking truly does a body good and is one of the many ways to be healthy, live healthy and stay healthy!