Ideal exercise to stay fit and active. There are those who argue that it provides the same benefits as running. Power walking has recently become a trend thanks to a growing body of research showing the benefits of walking at a brisk level every day. However, this aforementioned activity should not be confused with simply walking at a slow pace to “mind your mind” or to be outside.
Power walking is an aerobic exercise that consists of walking at an accelerated and energetic pace while making slight movements with the arms to evoke other parts of the body without legs. It is considered moderate intensity exercise that is used for athletic purposes and to improve health and to make good health, so that we can put down the cellular lifestyle and start exercising on a regular basis, since it is not necessary to go to the gym or go to do it. to return the race. Everyone can do the power of walking in different places from the city streets to the beach square or the river.
In addition, being able to do this activity outdoors allows people to leave the closed environments in which they stay all day and helps them to disconnect from everyday problems and worries.
“Many people do one hour of daily exercise in the morning, but by sitting for six hours at work, the effect of physical activity disappears,” explains Néstor Lentini (MP 33627), sports medicine specialist at the University Hospital. Southern (HUA). And he adds that if this is done, it is recommended to distribute daily physical activity in batches to achieve better health benefits.
On the other hand, the World Health Organization now recommends that adults walk at least 10,000 steps a day, which translates into a distance of about 7 kilometers. And this added, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), brisk walking at a pace greater than 3 mph is considered moderate-intensity aerobic activity. For this reason, professionals recommend that people do at least 150 minutes per week.
Further, according to this regulation, one way to confirm and remove doubt, whether you are actively walking or simply walking passively, is by measuring your heart; When performing this brisk walk, the heart rate should be between 64% and 76% of the maximum that can be entered for age. By subtracting a century from your 220 calculations; For example, a 40-year-old man beats 180 beats per minute and at moderate aerobic intensity should be between 115 and 136 beats per minute.
For Dr. Lentini, this high-intensity walk can be done with pleasure or conversation. “You walk, but the intensity allows you to talk with the one who accompanies you,” he said. And add the possibility of intermittent aerobic exercise jogging, cycling or swimming. “Power walking is an ideal exercise to complete any aerobic activity and also has recreational benefits,” he points out.
According to various researches, there are many benefits of doing this exercise, and among them are found: improvements in the circulatory system, lower blood pressure, less likely to suffer from coronary diseases, improvement in mental health and sleep quality.
1) blood pressure
Research titled “Walking and Hypertension: Greater Reductions in Subjects With Higher Baseline Systolic Blood Pressure After Six Months of Walking,” argues that this activity can reduce hypertension or uncomfortable blood pressure in adults. Likewise, doctors have noticed that increasing the speed of walking also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in other ways, such as reduced body weight and waist circumference.
2) life expectancy
People who exercise power walking tend to have a longer life expectancy, according to a study from the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. To determine this, researchers examined the data and health histories of more than 474,900 adults and found that those who regularly took these brisk walks were likely to live about 13 to 24 years longer than those who walked at a slower pace, specifically. less than 4.8 km/h.
3) mental health
It is known that physical activity, in addition to preventing and reducing the risk of any disease, is also a very positive contribution to mental health. Any physical activity causes neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and dopamine, and these allow us to have pleasant feelings,” psychologist Sol Buscio (MN 71610). Along the same lines, a study published in the Journal of Medical Medicine evaluated the impact of walking outdoors in people with anxiety and depression, and found that walking in these environments improved the psychological effect of depressed and anxious patients.
4) Sleep quality
The exercise of power walking improves the quality of sleep, according to a study published in the journal Sport Science for Health. Fifty-four healthy adults participated in a vigorous walking intervention, in which they were randomly assigned to two observation groups (group A and group B). After 12 weeks, the professors concluded that the majority of participants had a significant improvement in the duration and overall quality of sleep, and a statistically significant decrease in the use of sleep medications. “This practice is highly recommended and I believe it is effective in promoting public health,” said Feifei Wang, director of the study.
5) body stability
According to the research entitled “Effect of brisk walking on emotional stability, bone mineral density, weight and body composition in women over 50 years of age”, the power of walking improved emotional stability in participants when they kept their eyes closed.
In the study, 104 women over the age of 50 with no work experience were followed and instructed to wear a technical skill that measured their fitness. They were then asked whether they had the power to go on the road or go to work for a total of 30 to 35 minutes, at least five times a week. For this reason, they observed that women who actively walk to stabilize the stability and this can have a direct effect on reducing the risk of falls.
In addition to these benefits of walking, Dr. Lentini explains that by increasing the heart rate with these movements, the vascularization effect is good for the upper and lower limbs of the body. “We add that it increases the capillarization of muscle fibers when it is exercised daily or when it is supplemented with other aerobic activities,” he adds.
Finally, the sports medicine specialist encourages the use of loading elements such as dumbbells or dumbbells, as they allow muscle groups to move and release interleukins – a group of cytokines that help the cells of the immune system to grow and divide faster.
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