Regular walking has definite health benefits and it can also provide a better workout than running. Time then to join all the other DBers hiking the Lantau trails
Regular walking has definite health benefits and it can also provide a better workout than running. Time then to join all the other DBers hiking the Lantau trails
I’ve been wearing a pedometer (step counter) for seven months now, and I genuinely believe that it has helped motivate me to get fit and lose weight. A total of 10,000 steps per day, equivalent to 8 kilometres, is recommended as the benchmark for an active lifestyle, and I find this pretty easy to achieve.
Five days a week I walk to and from the ferry as part of my daily commute, and I make a point of getting out in my lunch hour and walking around for 30 minutes or so. Most days I reach my goal of 10,000 steps even if I have to pace a little around my flat in the evenings, or wonder down to the plaza. At the weekends, to really compete with myself, and up my step count, I’ve taken to walking the Lantau trails.
AT HOME ON THE TRAILS
While you wouldn’t catch me racing round a track, and I’m no gym bunny, walking appeals because it doesn’t really feel like exercise. There are times when I’ll break a sweat and even feel the burn, but for the most part I’m in a tranquil headspace, focused on the people around me – or the glorious views.
Where you walk certainly makes a difference. Switch from pavements to grass and you’ll burn 50% more calories; walking uphill, on sand or rough trail burns twice as many calories as road walking.
Importantly too, anyone of any fitness level can hike, though new hikers need to be realistic and choose trails that are in keeping with their physical limits. Newbies should start with short, easy hikes and ensure they pace themselves, settling into a natural stride and rhythm.
There are numerous reasons to get into trail hiking: it can certainly help you tone and lose weight but it also benefits the mind and soul. It releases stress, helps reduce insomnia and builds a positive sense of achievement as you conquer longer and more difficult trails. Getting out into nature is proven to benefit health, promoting healing and alleviating stress, and on the trails, you also get to learn something… about the history of a particular trail and the villages and places you pass through.
Hiking also contributes to an overall feeling of wellness. It provides an escape from the daily routine – a self-nourishing, meditative timeout if you do it alone, and a productive space in which to truly get to know one another if you do it with friends.
PRESCRIPTION TO WALK
Any physical activity boosts your overall health but walking, in particular, comes with a host of benefits. Here are five that may surprise you.
Harvard researchers looked at 32 obesitypromoting genes in over 12,000 people to determine how much these genes actually contribute to body weight. Among the study participants who walked briskly for about an hour a day, the effects of those genes were cut in half. Walking therefore counteracts the effects of weight-promoting genes.
A pair of studies from the University of Exeter found that a 15-minute walk can curb cravings for chocolate and even reduce the amount of chocolate you eat in stressful situations. And the latest research confirms that walking can reduce cravings and intake of a variety of sugary snacks. Know too that a short walk after eating can nudge your blood sugar into a healthy range.
Researchers already know that any kind of physical activity blunts the risk of breast cancer. But an American Cancer Society study that zeroed in on walking found that women who walked seven or more hours a week had a 14% lower risk of breast cancer than those who walked three hours or fewer per week. And walking provided this protection even for the women with breast-cancer risk factors, such as being overweight or using supplemental hormones.
Several studies have found that walking reduces arthritis-related pain, and that walking 8 to 5 kilometres a week can even prevent arthritis from forming in the first place. Walking protects the joints – especially the knees and hips, which are most susceptible to osteoarthritis – by lubricating them and strengthening the muscles that support them.
A study of over 1,000 men and women found that those who walked for at least 20 minutes a day, at least five days a week, had 43% fewer sick days than those who exercised once a week or less. And if they did get sick, it was for a shorter duration, and their symptoms were milder. Walking boosts immune function, meaning it can help protect you during cold and flu season.
FEEL THE BURN
Back to walking your way to fitness: mile for mile, running and walking burn the same amount of calories (around 100), but the real benefit of walking is that it burns more fat than running. Even after two weeks of daily, two-minute walks, you should start to see big changes in your shape. More good news: walking trims the hips, thighs and bottom better and quicker than running. The walking movement lengthens and strengthens muscles in the lower body, and helps you lose weight in all the right places. Walkers are toned rather than sinewy, and ladies you won’t lose weight around the bust.
With the right technique, walking can also give the abdominal muscles a good workout. Imagine you have a glass of water on each hip, so you don’t swing them. This naturally engages and strengthens the core muscles. The aim is to walk steadily at a pace that leaves you a little breathless when talking.
If you can’t maintain a brisk pace for your entire workout, consider walking intervals where you have hard effort mixed with recovery periods. For example, warm up at a 3kmph pace. Then for the rest of your walk, alternate a minute at a pace of 6kmph with one or two minutes at 3kmph.
More time on your feet will increase your calorie burn. Like I said, a total of 10,000 steps per day, equivalent to 8 kilometres, is recommended. Wearing a backpack can also turn up your burn. For example, a 155-pound person burns approximately 267 calories walking at a moderate (5.5kmph) pace on a flat surface for one hour. That same person could burn up to 439 calories an hour walking a more mountainous trail while wearing a weighted backpack.
As for technique, most of us don’t walk as efficiently or as safely as we could. Make sure that, as each foot lands, you transfer weight down the outside of the sole to the ball. Don’t lift the back foot until the big toe of the front foot has landed. Keep the leg muscles relaxed, avoid locking the knees, and make sure your arms are bent at 90º, swinging them close to the body. Shoulders should be loose, hands gently cupped and eyes looking straight ahead – unless of course you get distracted by the view.