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Simple Tips for Walkers & Joggers!

For the average American, exercise begins and ends with a gym membership. We tend to think that only a gym can help us lose weight, maintain our fitness or build our cardio. But what many have seemed to forgot is that walking and jogging are both activities that provide an abundance of mental and physical benefits.

Now I am not saying you should cancel your gym membership, but I am suggesting you incorporate a walking and jogging routine into your exercise. Each year more and more Americans are realizing the powerful benefits of walking or jogging for an inexpensive way of staying healthy.

IBIS World estimates that the obesity rate among Americans over the age of 18 has increased by 1.8% to 33.0 people per 100 individuals since 2021. In Western society today, its so easy for us to eat as much as we want while sitting on our butts in air conditioned rooms all day for work and then come back home to sit on the couch to watch TV or go on the internet after a long day. Just to end up repeating the same routine the next day. This highlights why its so important for the average American to get outside and go for a daily walk.

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should incorporate walking or jogging into your daily routine:

1. Helps you build discipline and confidence:
a. When you start a race, no matter if it’s a mile or if it’s a marathon, you still have a goal to accomplish. Practicing daily walking will help to get you used to accomplishing goals. Walking is an easy way for you to build the momentum of committing to what you say and then doing it. Once you get used to accomplishing small goals, like walking to a certain destination, then you will be able to chase after bigger goals. Accomplishing a daily goal can only help to build your confidence and discipline.
 
2. Burns calories:
a. Of course, we all know that any form of exercise is going to burn calories. But did you know that on average an hour workout session at the gym burns 300 calories while an hour long walk helps you to burn twice as much? If you don’t believe me just try it out for yourself. Health experts even claim that walking on a treadmill can increase calorie burnout more than a stationary bike, stair climber and rower.
 
3. Jogging helps you cope with stress:
a. Stress relief is something that almost everyone pursues but most do not pursue it in healthy ways. Walking and jogging are great ways for you to relieve stress because it increases the norepinephrine, a chemical that regulates the brain’s stress response.
 
4. Boosts your vitamin D naturally:
a. As I’m sure your aware, the human body gets most of it’s vitamin D from the sun. However, most americans spend way too much time in doors and that has resulted in around 41.6 percent of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, according to research published by Nutrition Research. Those who are deficient in vitamin D tend to suffer from bone pain, muscle weakness, as well as risk cardiovascular disease, asthma and even cancer. Lack of vitamin D has also been linked to lack of cognitive ability. This means you need to get outside, have a walk and soak up that vitamin D from the sun.
 
5. Helps you live longer:
a. ‘The American College of Cardiology’ discovered that walking or jogging for even 5-10 minutes a day significantly reduces the risk of death from most illnesses. Now before you start thinking about all the excuses for why you don’t have 5-10 minutes for a walk and let’s start making time for it. Even the ‘Archives of internal medicine’ concluded that those who tend to jog live years longer than those who don’t practice daily walking or jogging. That means if you care about living a long life then you are going to want to implement either walking or jogging.
 

Now that we understand the importance of walking and jogging lets discuss some ways to keep you motivated and on track. Walking or jogging can tend to be an individual sport for most people. However, the best way to stay consistent each day is by tracking your results and exercising with a friend.

There are many apps out in the world now that can track your steps and measure your progress. Many cellphones now a days already comes with some version of it already downloaded. Now all you have to do is start using it. It will be tedious at first, but give it 30 days and you will have built a habit that will allow you to see how far you have come on your journey.

Many people do not have a companion that they can consistently walk with on a daily basis. For those people we recommend our Silver Sneakers Walking Program. Its an easy class where you will make friends, build your fitness and your discipline. In the class you will alternate between one minute of fast walking and four minutes of moderate walking. During each fast interval you will count your steps then you will try to beat that number during the next fast interval. This will keep you honest and allow you to see how much you have improved over time.

If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to us at any time.

Walk on.

 

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