Article Body:
Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin
It is generally well accepted that exercise burns calories and may increase the general health of body and mind. Most folks also recognize that walking is one among the only and best exercises for weight loss and health. What many of us do not realize is that they could not be getting the foremost effective returns on their efforts. It actually requires just a touch tweaking of an easy walking program to form it simpler as a weight loss program.
Many experts will recommend a minimum of half-hour of sustained physical activity a day for health. However, half-hour of walking each day , while it's going to initially cause some welcome and valuable weight loss for an overweight individual, the load loss results will probably not be sustained because the body makes adjustments and learns to simply accept the new demands made thereon .
Rest assured, walking (or participating in other activities) for a sustained half-hour each day WILL end in better health, a greater level of energy and well-being, also as producing SOME weight loss. However, anyone seriously overweight will probably not create the sustained, permanent weight loss they seek with only half-hour each day .
Because of the way during which the body draws on fat stores vs. other stored energy sources, the first, and most precious step, are going to be to extend the quantity of your time the activity is performed. Forty-five minutes is best than 30, and 60 is best than 45 minutes.
Admittedly, walking an hour each day , six or seven times every week could also be difficult for a few to suit into their schedules. However, simply increasing the time to 45 or hour of activity two or 3 times every week will produce more weight loss than keeping all walks at half-hour .
Another technique is to extend the speed with which you walk on the times that you simply don't walk quite half-hour . This also has the advantage of conditioning the body during a slightly different manner than the slower paced, longer walks. Remember, no walk should introduce extreme difficulty in breathing. A rule of thumb is that if you can't talk and walk, you're attempting to either go too fast or too far. Always build up slowly to new levels of exertion.
You may also want to think about adding resistance training, like with free weights, or equipment like a Bowflex or Total Gym, or similar exercise apparatus. This builds muscle tissue which can burn more calories even during a resting state. Additionally, walking exercises only certain muscles and muscle groups. A resistance educational program are often wont to train muscle groups generally not included in walking.
Although the extended 45 and 60 minute walks are going to be somewhat simpler if done at just one occasion , two 30 minute walks during a day are going to be more beneficial for fitness and weight loss than just one .
I would wish to take a flash to deal with walking vs. running as a weight loss program.
Certainly, if you train to the purpose where you'll run certain distances in certain times, you'll almost certainly experience a serious weight loss if that's what your body needs. However, you'll get even as fit as a runner by walking with an excellent deal less danger of injury. A beginning walker especially is more likely to experience less discomfort during and after an exercise period than a beginning runner. Once you've got built muscles and stamina, you'll wish to maneuver into a running program. Also, within the beginning of any exercise program, whether for weight loss or fitness , extreme demands on the body and one's physical, mental, and motivational resources may end in the program being dropped. it's generally easier to slide into a permanent walking program from a sedentary lifestyle than a running program.
One last argument for a minimum of beginning with a walking program is that you simply can sneak into a walking program with none special equipment or preparation, and nobody but you must know that the shopping trip to the mall was actually your secret walk for the day.
There's an old saying that the journey of thousand miles begins with one step...so does a successful weight loss program.