Walking Best Exercise

Walking Best Exercise

Walking 10,000 steps a day is in the news often. ‘Do we really need to walk 10,000 steps a day?’, asks an article in today’s (30th July) BBC News World. Walking as a means of keeping healthy has always been popular. After the advent of pedometers like Fitbit and smart phone Apps setting up quotas for steps walked per day has become a craze. The importance of this craze in motivating our citizens to keep fit by exercising cannot be underestimated.

I consider myself well qualified to talk on the 10,000 steps fad for I am afflicted.

I acquired my first pedometer in late 2015 and experimented for a year. In 2017, I logged 10,000 steps every day for the year. The following years, in 2018 and 2019, I had missed a few days when traveling here and there. I will describe my method which should suit 50 years above citizens, but first a few words about the benefits of exercising.

Exercise is good for the body. No one questions that. Walking is a good exercise. That too again is accepted. How much daily walking constitutes as a good exercise was a long awaiting question for a precise answer. A well-rounded emphatic answer is now available—10,000 steps.

The benefits of exercise are many.

1.

It reduces feelings of fatigue. A person who walks 10000 steps a day is not likely to spend the rest of the day lazing about the house whatever his age. He will be an active person.

2.

Muscles and bones are kept in good condition. Muscles waste very quickly if unused. Astronauts after a long stay in space when they land of Earth do not have the muscle power to stand up unaided. It takes them time to get back into condition. Their muscles have atrophied in the weightlessness of space. The same applied to patients bedridden for long periods.

Exercise prevents bone from becoming osteoporotic. This specially applies to women after menopause.

3.

Exercising is a boost to the mind also. These 10000 steps-a-day walkers are less likely to be depressed and in a state of anxiety.

4.

Regular exercising has a beneficial effect on the circulation especially the mechanism by which contraction and relaxation of the calf muscles and thigh muscles pump the blood back to the heart. Exercise has a beneficial effect on coronary circulation and the lungs.

5.

Along with dieting walking at this level keeps the weight down. It is important for those doing their daily 10000 not to get deluded into thinking that they can relax in their diet schedules. If they do that, they may be surprised to see their weight go up. One should always remember that exercise is a distant second to dieting in weight control.

6.

Ten thousand-steppers are unlikely to suffer from insomnia.

I use Fitbit One as my pedometer. My stride length (Fitbit’s default based on height) is 27.4 inches. Thus 10000 steps amount to 4.32 miles which is beyond the capacity of an average octogenarian to walk at one stretch. The walk must be spaced.

The stride must be natural. Increasing it will strain the hamstring muscles. Swinging the arms does not confer any additional benefit. As for speed, ideally one should walk at one’s fastest natural pace. One should never strain for speed. The idea is to make the walk something to look forward to. It should never become a chore. One should never forget that it is going to be a lifetime habit.

My routine is as follows:

After early morning bath and change the Fitbit is clipped on and it stays there till bedtime. Every step I take during the day is recorded. The first numbers are loaded into the device when instant coffee is heating in the microwave oven. The time is set for 50 seconds and the first walk for the day is the walk up and down the hall when the microwave is buzzing. It takes exactly a minute to walk 100 steps.

Ideally early morning is the time for an outdoor walk. One cannot imagine a better place for a 10000-step walk than Sea View beach at sunrise.

From then on when the opportunity occurs, I take a short walk inside the house. After breakfast and before lunch a 30-minute walk is possible. I have many playlists in my iPod that play for that length of time. These are my 3000-steps Playlists. After lunch one can find time for a 10-minute or 15-minute walk which amount to 1000 - 1500 steps.

After lunch I go to a nearby mall where mixing with the shoppers are many who make use of the controlled weather condition inside the mall for their daily walk. Most of them are senior citizens. Three rounds in the mall and my 10000-step walk for the day is achieved. There are days when I overshoot but it is a good idea not to overdo but keep to the 10000 limit.

I recommend the daily 10000 steps walk as a worthy exercise schedule.

Ideal situation is when you are walking 10k steps along with 5 time namaz daily. The process of praying is a low to moderate intensity form of regular exercise lasting 10 to 20 minutes up to five times a day. This raises the heart rate, increasing blood flow around the body and helps to improve the strength and stamina of the heart muscles. Exercise also promotes the body’s release of natural painkillers (endorphins) which can promote feelings of wellbeing and reduce pain. Other beneficial activities can be combined with prayer, such as walking to the local mosque. This can help patients achieve the recommended weekly exercise levels of 30 minutes a day, at least five times a week.