Walk’s the good word

BENGALURU : Being fit is being functional. Let’s start this column with the absolute basics of the human body’s functionality. Our body is designed to move. If it were designed to be placed on a chair all day, it would be designed differently. Our ancestors sat down only to eat and sleep. The rest of the time they were active and on the move. Today, we sit as much as they moved. We need to walk more through the day to 

•  Mobilise the joints 
•  Allow good blood circulation
•  Strengthen the bones and muscles
•  Improve balance and coordination (very important as we age)
•  Lose weight and maintain weight 
•  Keep blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes at bay

Not walking enough on a daily basis will simply rust the joints and muscles, making them stiff and prone to injuries. It can cause obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and more inflammation in the body, while also slowing down metabolism, which could lead to weight gain. 

Start slow, but start moving more often wherever you are, at home or at work. If you have a wearable fitness tracker, check your steps every day. If you don’t, use some app on the phone as you carry the phone everywhere. You would be doing around 3,000 steps a day. This needs to gradually go up and you can keep a target of 10,000 steps a day. This can be achieved through the day by getting off your chair every two hours (to get some water, to go to the washroom, to take a call, etc).

Walking is also a natural fat burner. If your goal is fat loss (weight loss), do a 30-45 minute brisk walk. Brisk walk would mean you walk fast enough to get your heart rate to around 70 per cent of your maximum heart rate. This means you will be panting a little, but can have a conversation with your walking partner. For weight loss or to simply be healthy, walking should be incorporated by every human being as it is what your body is naturally able to do. So do not take away the natural or normal functionality of the body due to lifestyle and modernisation. 

Walking is one of the best ways to start your fitness journey. Good health and fitness do not have to be intimidating or time consuming. It can be a part of what you do every day because your body is designed to move and you ought to maintain its basic functionality. So now that you have read this column, start the journey with me to make health easy and be better every day.(The author is a fitness expert with Cure.Fit)

Make walking a routine

• Choose the time you want to do longer walk and plan how you will break it through the day
• Wear the right shoes and clothes when you go for outdoor walks
• Ensure you warm up before the brisk walk, by starting a slow walk for 10 minutes. Cool down the same way. Stretch your muscles, quadriceps, calves, hamstrings and glutes
• Stay motivated by tracking progress and finding a walking partner
• Target 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day (accumulated between indoor and outdoor walk)