In most recent years, communities and larger cities alike have become more pedestrian-friendly by applying a certain amount of funding to be spent on pedestrian-focused projects like cross-walks and adequate lighting. Communities that may have walking paths have taken it a step further to add in different workout stations where there may be a bench or bar setup and various exercises you can try along your route.

Aside from urban planning, doctors, insurance companies, and public-health officials have banded together to make their message loud and clear: Walk—it’s good for you. Paul T. Williams, Ph.D., a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in Berkeley, California, goes so far as to call walking “a wonder drug, except that you don’t need a prescription and you don’t have to pay for it.” He’s not exaggerating. Walking regularly will not only get you into decent shape but also does a whole lot more!

So…why walk?

1. Lowers the rate of weight gain

2. Staves off dips in energy – those large afternoon (or any time of day) meals can wreak havoc on blood sugar levels and leave you feeling sluggish. But, timing your walks appropriately can help avoid that afternoon slump!  Taking a quick post meal 15 minute walk can be more effective at regulating blood sugar than one long 45 minute mid-morning or midafternoon walk.

3. Boosts your mood! 

4. Strengthens memory – from a 2011study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, elderly subjects who walked for 40 minutes three times a week for a year so a 2% increase in the size of their hippocampus, the area of the brain that controls memory and emotion. The study suspects increased blood flow and growth in connections between cells may be contributing factors.

5. Protects you from heart disease

6. Decrease risk of some cancers

7. Great way to slowly build up your fitness level and to incorporate other exercise moves – while you’re walking take some breaks to do a couple strength moves like squats, push-ups or lunges. Find a nearby bench or picnic table and add in some incline push-ups, step-ups or dips. As you get more comfortable with walking at a brisk pace, move into a slow jog alternating a minute jog with a 2-minute walk. Overtime, increase your minutes of jogging while decreasing your minutes of walking as you build up endurance.

Incorporating different moves every so often wakes up your muscles and helps burn more calories overall! Try this “Weight-Loss Walk” workout the next time you head out for a walk!

• Warm-up first! About 2-minutes of walking at a brisk pace (if you’re on a treadmill aim for 3.7 mph). Gradually increase your speed every 30 seconds, work up to a 4.1 pace if on the treadmill.
• Then, walk as fast as your can without jogging for 10 minutes
• At 10 minutes, stop walking and go through these moves!

– Hold a plank for 1 minutes (or as long as you can)

– Do 10 push-ups (regular or on your knees)

– Do 20 forward lunges (each leg)

• Then go back into your fast paced walk for 10 minutes – your pace should feel difficult but not impossible, and you should be able to hold a conversation with someone. Then stop walking and do these moves…

– 10 triceps pushups (keep your arms a little closer than shoulder-width apart and keep your elbows in at your side as you lower yourself down, you should “scrape” your ribs with your elbows

– 40 crunches

• Walk for another 10 minutes as fast as you can without jogging – then do these last strength training moves

– 10 triceps dips (if you do not have a bench or chair available do another 10 triceps pushups)

– 10 forward lunges on each leg

– Finish with a 1-minute plank (or as long as you can hold it!)

• Cool down with a slow walk to lower your heart rate and breathing

Challenge yourself by increasing your pace or add an incline if on the treadmill! You can also add weights when completing the strength exercises!

Try the exercise above and let us know how you liked it! Did you modify anything, add weights or tried jogging or running some of the workout? Let us know in the comments section below!

Don’t forget if you are in the Walktober Wellness Challenge to leave us a comment!

*Please be sure to consult with your health care provider if you have any concerns completing the above exercises.

Source: www.realsimple.com