Does walking sound wimpy to you? Well, the health benefits definitley aren’t! Check out this powerful and creative “whiteboard” explanation by Dr. Mike Evans of the benefits of walking.
At Lexington Athletic Club you have lots of choices when beginning a walking program. We have a long indoor track (6.5 laps per mile), thirty treadmills (with TV’s and iPod connections) and a pool, where you can even walk in the water. If you are interested in a free four day pass click here.
Here’s what Mark Sisson says about walking at Mark’s Daily Apple:
LAC's indoor track, perfect for walking!
-Kids who walk to school are fitter than peers who do not.
-Older healthy adults who walk briskly live longer than those who don’t.
-Healthy adult males who engage in short bouts of brisk walking experience lower resting blood pressure and postprandial triglycerides.
-Regular walking improves working memory in older adults.
-Walking improves longevity in women over 70 years of age.
-Walking programs improve cognitive ability in people with Alzheimer’s.
Mark goes on to say this about walking:
In my experience, it’s the easy, seemingly inconsequential stuff that’s the hardest sell. The crazier, more unconventional stuff gets all the attention. Tons of people get out there and do heavy squats, order grass-fed cows, buy the latest Vibram model, learn to love liver, and proudly stride barefoot into the grocery store – but they drove to get there. It’s the easy things, like walking regularly and often, that are somehow the hardest to do. They’re the easiest to ignore. Walking? Yeah, it’s nice, it’s relaxing, but it won’t put on the mass and elicit the hormonal response of a set of heavy deadlifts. It isn’t sexy.
Walking matters, folks. Big time. If we stop moving, even if we’re standing at our desks and hitting the gym every other day, we’re dying. We’re telling our bodies that we’ve given up, that it’s okay to shut down, that all those millions of years of daily, constant walking were an aberration, a mistake, a fluke. That’s folly. I think you know it, but I don’t know if you know it.
So get moving – starting tomorrow. Wake up ten minutes early tomorrow and use that extra time to walk around the
Fitness pyramid...walking is the base
block. Practice the different walking techniques. Go barefoot. Feel the ground beneath you. Enjoy the still dewy blades of grass slipping between your toes. Feel the serrated edges stimulate those long-dormant nerves. Ignore the mythical broken glass, infected syringes, and rusty nails littering the ground and welcome the occasional uncomfortable rock digging into your sole. It happens, but that’s life, and it’s okay. Just keep it moving and leave it all behind.
Read more about walking here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/21/sunday/main2381279.shtml
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/walking/HQ01612
http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/9181668
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-walking/#ixzz1hHTJDB4e