Walking is a free activity and has plenty of health benefits to people of all ages and fitness levels.
We hear the magic number “10,000 steps a day” everywhere, but actually there is not much study behind it. It was a marketing tool in 1965 for selling a device called “Manpokei” to track steps.
But as many fitness experts, I also agree that 10,000 steps daily is not a bad target after all, but you also shouldn’t beat yourself up if you do 6000 or 8000 steps on some days.
Adding extra steps to your day is an important component of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) that can boost your metabolism and add health-promoting activity to your life.
If your goal is to lose fat, then NEAT can play a huge roll in your transformation and you should definitely make sure that apart from regular exercise and healthy eating, your daily activity is up as well.
Our Daily energy requirement = BMR + Thermic Effect of Food + Thermic Effect of Physical Activity (planned and not planned (NEAT).
Benefits of walking:
- Improve cardiorespiratory healthy
- Better bone healthy (it is low impact)
- Decreased Blood Pressure
- Healthy weight loss/maintenance if combined with healthy balanced eating and planned exercise
- Increased Longevity
- Decreased Stress
Often asked question: Is walking a good type of cardio exercise?
Yes and no. If you go for a normal walk, then it counts as your daily activity (part of your NEAT) but if you go for a brisk walk, and get your heart pumping stronger and faster, then you will have a good cardio workout.
Now go and gets those steps in 😉
Bx
