Walking Your Way To Better Health..
So I would like to dedicate this weeks blog to celebrate and embrace the unlimited benefits of walking and what it can do for you both physically and mentally.
Those of you that either work with me or follow me on social media know the benefits of exercise, but when it comes to weight-loss a lot of you still think that going all out in couple of gym sessions or classes a week is the only answer to shed the pounds. And whilst yes I encourage EVERYONE to include some form of strength training into their weekly regimes. Walking is one of the easiest and simplest ways to tackle weight-loss…
8 Reasons To Get Those Steps Up..
Pros
- REDUCES STRESS. It’s the perfect way to zone-out and rid yourself of any daily stress
- MAINTAINS A HEALTHY WEIGHT!!
- Discover New Places!!
- Multi-task – WALK AND TALK – You can do it alone or with a friends and family
- LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE
- INCREASES ENERGY LEVELS.
- IMPROVES SLEEP.
- Discover New Places!!
I’m sure you can add a few of you own…
…The list is endless, and the best part ANYONE can do it whatever your fitness level and with just a starting point of 10 minutes a day, you can add years to your life expectancy!
My NINE TOP TIPS To Help You Get Started And Motivated..
Stop stressing over how many calories or not you have consumed via food. And focus more on your overall daily energy expenditure. Your daily steps and movements are the key to better overall health, energy, mood and fitness levels! And here’s 9 ways to help you get going…
9 Easy Tips
- Implement 10-20 minute Morning walks – Simply getting up with your coffee can be a great start to the day.
- 10-20 minute incline treadmill walk pre or post workout – Start or Finish your lifting sessions or classes with a treadmill walk, can be a great way to cool down or warm up and increase your basic fitness levels.
- Walk to work or Part way to work – This will obviously depend on your geographical location. But just simply getting off the bus or tube a stop early to get your steps up.
- Walk in your lunch break – this is actually a really good way to relieve stress and that energy slump in the afternoon.
- If you don’t already, Start joining 1-2 gym classes a week. If you can’t find time to walk in the mornings, or walk to or part way to work, can you find time at the weekends or evenings to join a class or two?
- 10 minute circuits in front of the TV – This is a great option if you have kids or if the weather is pants outside. Things like Starjumps or high knees, gentle jog or march on the spot, skipping with or with a jump rope. Any thing you can do and split into 1 minute intervals for 10 mins can massively improve your step count and fitness levels.
- Add time to your already time consuming physical activities – Playing with the kids or walking the dog. Simply adding an extra 10 minutes onto the physical activities you are already doing can ramp up your energy expenditure!
- Remember this is a weekly goal! – Don’t panic if it gets to Saturday morning and your 30k steps short. Use the weekends when you perhaps have more time on your hands to go out for longer walks with friends and Fam and enjoy the social element of exercise and discovering new places!
- Do the tasks you have been putting off like cleaning the house or washing the car. It may not sound like fun, but an hour of house cleaning or domestic activity is serious energy expenditure. Remember this is all about getting up and moving about as much as you can through out the day!
Conclusion..
There’s nothing magical about the times / amounts I’ve suggested, I’ve just tried to start small, but with an impact (10-20 minute walks daily / 1-2 gym classes PW etc.).
Obviously there are loads of options re expenditure, it’s just that steps are easy to quantify. But any and all activity is fantastic!
Remember to hit a weekly total, and not get so bogged down with daily targets if it doesn’t suit your life.
Take it one day / week at time and increase your steps incrementally as the time passes. Remember this is meant to be doable, maintainable and even enjoyable, so take the pressure off.
And guess what…
I have a house that is desperate to be cleaned, a dog that I can loan out for walks, oh and a gym that runs classes face to face or Online (wink wink) so if you need that extra motivation shoot me a message, leave a comment below, or simply subscribe to our newsletter to find out more about our Weekly timetable of classes , Coaching services and current offers!
