Walking How Long? Normal or Brisk Walking?With Music or without music? If with music-What type of Music? "Om chanting" Do you have Please share.

(November 18, 2011)

Walking Duration

How long should I walk? It is recommended that a person should walk for about 30 to 60 minutes at 50%to 70% of his/her maximum heart rate. To begin with, start walking for five to ten minutes without stressing yourself. Follow this with some flexibility and stretching exercises. For the next 30 minutes,you need to walk at your maximum heart rate. This needs to be followed with five minutes of walking at a slower pace. Finish your walk with a couple of gentle stretches. If you plan to go on longer walk, then the first 30 to 60 minutes should be brisk, whereas you can walk at a comfortable pace for the next 30 to 60 minutes. If you find it difficult to walk at a stretch for 30 minutes, you can walk for shorter periods a couple of times during the day. This brings us to the next important question: How many days in the week should I walk? Well, the answer is you have to walk every day. If you feel tired and worn out, it is okay to skip your daily walk, but make sure you are at it the next day.

Research indicates that walking with music is a great idea. Music takes you away attention from the boredom of exercising and makes walking a pleasurable experience. Music also helps motivate you to walk. Research also indicates that the kind of music you hear while exercising or walking can impact your performance. For example, if you listen to slow music, it can actually bring down your fitness potential. If you follow a steady rhythm of music, it might help you sustain a walking pace that is regular. Upbeat music, on the other hand, can motivate you to keep walking and also have a positive impact on your heart rate.

You can take your pick of slow beat and fast beat music. You can then match your pace of walking to the music’s beat. Make sure to change your daily routine by shuffling the songs and never walking to the same set of music twice.

Submitted by R J on November 18, 2011 at 12:12

Benefits Of Walking

Walking is not only one of the safest activates for burning calories but also the easiest. If you want to see benefits from walking you need to walk for about 30 minutes daily. If you find it difficult to walk for thirty minutes, try walking for shorter periods of about 10 to 15 minutes.

Here are some of the benefits you can gain from walking.

Walking is an excellent exercise that helps you reduce excess body fat, improve your metabolism, and increase your lean muscle tissue. When combined with nutritious eating and a healthy lifestyle, walking helps you achieve weight-control that is long-lasting.
Walking daily is an effective way to help lower high blood pressure and decrease bad cholesterol levels. Walking also reduces your chances of dying from stroke or heart disease.
Walking may also help protect you against breast cancer and colon cancer.
Walking is known to helpwith pain and joint swelling in those suffering from arthritis.
Another great benefit of walking is that it gives a boost to your mood and reduces depression and anxiety. Walking on a daily basis improves your self-esteem.
Research indicates that walking for just 150 minutes in a week and losing weight helps reduce a person’s chances of getting diabetes.
A study on cognitive function and walking that was conducted on women has shown that walking for at least 1.5 hours/week at an easy pace improved their cognitive function and there was less cognitive decline in these women as well.
Walking regularly gives a boost to your body’s immune system and reduces your chances of getting diseases.
Walking regularly helps improve your posture.
A brisk walk, especially in the afternoon, helps you sleep well.
In addition to all these health benefits, walking can also help in the prevention and management of impotence, constipation and osteoporosis.

Submitted by C D on November 18, 2011 at 12:04