By Aaron Boike, B.S. Kinesiology, ACE Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach
In our modern “Ra Ra” days of high intensity intervals, lung torching spinning classes, and Crossfit style weight workouts, it can get easy to get caught up in the “more intensity is better” mentality. While high intensity workouts have shown in the research to have beneficial effects on metabolism, cardiovascular output and health, and weight loss, they also come at a price. High intensity workouts cause a large amount of stress on the body. Often we forget that this physical stress needs to be respected and dealt with by helping our bodies recover between workouts to truly absorb our training, as well as to help prevent the negative affects of overtraining and burnout.
A few months ago, in the early spring months of 2018, I found myself with a handful of clients that were on the brink of burnout. Stresses from home, work, busy schedules, lack of sleep, and their high intensity workout patterns had left them all stretched beyond their means. While I encourage consistency, I also encourage that my clients listen to their body and make smart choices when they know things aren’t feeling right. I advised these clients to trade their high intensity spinning classes, elliptical sessions, and hill repeats in for walking and hiking for the next week, and the results were awesome! These clients reported back feeling less stressed, more energized, mentality revitalized, and two even lost weight after being stuck in a plateau for weeks!
The truth is, walking is a great form of exercise that is often forgotten in favor of more high intensity exercise modalities. In reality, we could all use a lot more walking and hiking with a sprinkling of high intensity training mixed in, rather than the other way around. Here are some of the amazing benefits of participating in homo sapiens oldest form of exercise:
You’ll Reduce Your Risk of Chronic Diseases
Walking reduces your risk of chronic disease by helping to regulate some of the most vital functions of the body. First, walking helps you reduce your blood pressure. In fact, studies have shown that walking interventions over the short term can lead to as much as an 11 point decrease in blood pressure. This in turn leads to lower risk of stroke, heart attack, and other cardiorespiratory conditions. Second, walking helps you control your blood sugar and insulin sensitivity. The American Diabetes Associations position statement is that walking helps control blood sugar levels in diabetic and pre-diabetic patients. A study published in the Diabetes and Metabolism Journal in 2016 also showed a improvement in insulin sensitivity (which helps to regulate blood sugar by shuttling blood glucose into cells) up to 72 hours after walking – pretty cool, right?!
You’ll Reduce Stress
Walking has been shown in research to provide mood altering benefits that leave you feeling happier, less stressed, and less susceptible to depression and anxiety. A study published in the journal “Emotion” in 2016 showed that participants experienced a more positive mental affect after a walk, even when they did not expect it to enhance their mood, or even experienced dread regarding the activity. While walking anywhere has shown to enhance mood, walking in nature has been shown to have a particularly strong mood enhancing affect.
You’ll Improve Your Regularity
Walking stimulates the digestive system by creating an artificial paristalsis, which helps keeps things moving smoothly and on a more regular cycle. People who walk more often experience less constipation, bloating, and digestive discomfort.
You’ll Do Your Best Thinking
A study from Stanford School of Graduate Education showed that an individuals creativity increased about 60 percent while walking, and the increase continued shortly after the activity had been discontinued.
You’ll Lose Weight – and maybe even more than you think!
While it varies based on weight, a typical 180 lb man will burn about 100 calories per mile walking, and a 120 lb woman will burn about 65 calories per mile walking. While there might be slight differences based on speed, they are considered fairly minimal if you are using a per mile approach to calculating total calories burned. Another profound affect of walking is that the low intensity, stress reducing nature of the activity actually can help you balance your stress and relaxation hormones, creating a more favorable environment for weight loss.
Sources:
Miller, J. C., & Krizan, Z. (2016, August). Walking facilitates positive affect (even when expecting the opposite). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27100368
Rabbitt, M. (2018, June 01). 7 Incredible Results You’ll Get From Walking 30 Minutes A Day. Retrieved from https://www.prevention.com/fitness/a20485587/benefits-from-walking-every-day/
Way, K. L., Hackett, D. A., Baker, M. K., & Johnson, N. A. (2016, August). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4995180/