A Walk Extends Life

If you are absolutely not the type for extreme sports, intense workouts on the saddle of a bike or long hours closed in the weight room of the gym near your home, know that all is not lost. Both to keep body weight under control and to lose weight but, above all, to face life day after day in a healthy way, a dispassionate advice with many perhaps hidden benefits is precisely to dedicate a few minutes every day to a nice walk! Of course, we are not talking about strolling through the shop windows of the centre, but in any case it is certainly not a sport with intense and stressful rhythms for the body. Half an hour, perhaps an hour if the weather permits, at a brisk pace but without running, better if away from the traffic and constant traffic lights, perhaps using a cycle path or a route through the countryside, can have seriously positive effects for our general health, and not just to finally wear those jeans that seem so tight today…

So many good reasons to walk every day

If you still don't understand the reason or reasons that should push you to take a walk, here are some more tips:

• It could even be fun, perhaps chatting with your best friend or neighbor
• It is a cardiovascular exercise that allows you to activate many muscles in the legs, trunk and also in the arms; do not downgrade walking as a minor activity because it does not require particular efforts, constancy will be your best ally
• If you've been inactive for a long time, a healthy daily walk will be the best way to restore balance between bones, muscles and breath; later you can also choose whether to switch to some more intense activity
• You can also walk to go to work or to go to the supermarket; it does not require any registration, equipment or clothing costs, it is completely free!

A few tips to get the most out of your time

Perhaps at this point you will have understood that walking is a simple activity that does not require particular physical or financial effort... but now your feasibility study will have stopped, if only for the 'lack of time' issue. Well, today's stressful life doesn't actually allow us to dedicate too much time to ourselves, but with a few more suggestions, you can find your topical moments:

• Take advantage of the breaks to go for a walk, perhaps even using a pedometer (there are numerous apps for smartphones and more technical watches), when you take the dog to do his business, walk the baby in the stroller, to go get yourself a coffee; choose a distant bar even for the lunch break, so you will be forced to walk before and after the meal, and also at a fast pace so as not to be late
• When you're talking on the phone, walk around, move around, don't stand still; clean the house well and thoroughly, do gardening… all activities that force you to move and walk; you could also buy a treadmill to use as little as 15 minutes each day
• Set yourself weekly goals to achieve, such as climbing stairs 10 or 20 times, etc. etc.

Various types of walking

Depending on your pace, your walk takes on different 'meanings'. Indeed we have:

• The leisure walk, or rather the classic walk at a slow pace where you can converse without any problems or out of breath (better than nothing, but it does not bring great benefits)
• The brisk walk, with an effort equal to 60% and where the conversation becomes complicated due to out of breath (recommended for those who have been stationary for a long time)
• Brisk walking, with an effort equal to 70-80%, where it is almost impossible to speak (suitable either at a later time or for those who already practice physical activity and are of normal weight)
• The very fast walk, where you don't talk and you stay focused, the effort is considerable, and usually also includes some ups and downs (for a few, but not impossible to do with a little training)

Hydration during exercise

It is of fundamental importance not to forget to hydrate enough before tackling the walk, but also during it. A valid aid for those who have to face a training session is the product H24 Hydrate formulated in laboratories Herbalife, with 100% of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C, calcium and magnesium to support muscles during effort. The combined action of these two minerals is effective for human well-being, for correct cardiac functioning and for rebalancing the acid-alkaline levels of the body.