Although walking is a great exercise routine, it’s not always taken seriously. Many people argue that since you must walk to get places, it shouldn’t count as its own exercise. However, when it comes to women fitness, walking is a legitimate way for you to be active physically. It’s a form of cardiovascular exercise that, with the appropriate intensity, will help make your heart stronger so it can work more efficiently. Additionally, it plays other important roles in women’s health including helping you burn calories, improving your respiratory functions, and releasing endorphins that help elevate your mood. Of course, these things only happen when you walk at a brisk pace – not like you’re simply out for a leisurely stroll.
Walk a Mile, Burn 100 Calories
Clearly this shows that you’ll burn more calories than you think by walking. It’s important to understand that your weight and metabolism, as well as how fast you walk and the incline on which you walk are important factors here.
However, if you walk briskly, you should be able to gain 100 calories with each mile you cover. This means that if you walk 5 – 8 miles you’ll burn 500 – 800 calories, which is the same amount you’d lose if you were to run or bike for an hour. You can do even better if you walk up stairs or go to the gym and use a stair climber. Of course, there are multiple variables involved here as well.
Improve Women’s Health by Walking
You can definitely get into better shape by walking. In fact, when it comes to women fitness, anyone who isn’t as fit as they desire should start walking because it will be a tremendous help for them. Many women fitness coaches even see this as a great entry point into the world of physical fitness for many women today. It plays an important part for helping them get into shape and also counts as a cardio workout since it will elevate your heart rate above its normal resting rate.
Walking is also an easy exercise that can be done anywhere. You don’t need any setup time or special equipment to help you get started. This is welcome news for anyone concerned about women’s health or losing weight. It’s better than diving straight into a high-impact activity and will still allow you to lose body fat right away.
Determining how Much you Need to Walk
You must understand your baseline to determine how much walking will help you with your women fitness. For instance, anyone who runs half marathons on a routine basis won’t see their women’s health improve much by adding walking to their workout regimen. However, if you’re not very active, walking on a regular basis will help you push things to the next level.
When you start this women fitness routine, make sure you start with an amount of time that doesn’t feel overwhelming to you. This will help you continue your routine and move on to better women’s health. Over a few weeks you’ll want to increase the amount of time you walk and its intensity so you’ll start seeing its benefits.
Picture Credit: Nathan Cowley