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Fierce Woman Walking

Fierce walkingEasiest way to get moving is walking! We sometimes discount walking as not being intense or strenuous enough but I am here to refute that and provide several reasons why walking is a Fierce way to improve our health.

I’m fortunate enough to work at the same place as my husband (he may not always echo that sentiment). So on the way home from work, I can have him drop me off several miles from home (he doesn’t usually mind that). It may be 3, or 5, or 7 or whatever challenge I want to give myself that day and I have to finish the walk or I don’t get home. I like to incorporate some arm circles and alternating lunges at intervals along the path to increase the benefit. When walking laps, I can quit too easily when the same old round and round gets boring. Walking clears the mind, gets you outside, and is so good on so many levels. Check out the amazing facts below and then try to tell me walking is not really exercise.

 

Just one minute of walking gets you seven extra minutes added to your life span. It strengthens muscles and coordination, reducing risk of injuries and improving heart health. When was the last time you got that return on investment – seven for one!

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With just 11 minutes a day, you can ‘keep belly fat at bay” (Brown University).

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Up that walk to 30 minutes and it cuts your fracture risk 41%. Any amount of walking (or biking or swimming) can lower your risk of age-related dementia. That is a pretty FIERCE reason for walking every day.

Walking is good for your hearing! Say what!? According to research conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, the increased blow flow improves the performance of your cochlea (inner ear) allowing you to maintain your level of hearing.

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Thirty minutes of walking a day reduces your chances of developing diabetes by making your muscles more sensitive to insulin. That allows glucose to do its duty inside your cells rather than pile up in your bloodstream (that’s what happens when you have diabetes).

Walking regularly boosts your immune system, which can lower your risk of arthritis, macular degeneration, and even cancer by an astonishing 50% compared with people who don’t exercise.

Walking is one fierce way to help keep you functioning at your optimal level. Plus, it’s one method of moving that’s easy to stick with and it feels great to get outside and work those muscles. Put some music on, or let your mind wander, but get those feet moving and visualize all those healthy things you are doing for yourself! – M

 

0 Comments

  1. No one is too busy to not incorporate at least 1/2 hour of walking a day. Instead of sitting on the couch, I get on my treadmill and watch the news.

    1. So true Noreen. I used to think I had to wait until the weather got better but with the right clothing and footwear, any day is a day in which you can get in a walk. -M

  2. I’m a true believer in exercise, and walking is one of the easiest and most convenient forms of it. Besides the health benefits, great ideas can be generated while you walk. I love your plan of having your husband letting you out of the car to walk home. And, eh? What’s that you say about walking improving hearing?

    1. WALKING IS GOOD FOR YOUR EARS. Or in case you haven’t been walking that may sound like ‘watching scoot for years’ – whatever scoot might be 🙂 ! I did read somewhere that Einstein took daily walks so ‘he could listen to what was going on in his head’ and Dickens took really long walks (as much as 20 miles a day routinely). If walking can open the flood gates to creativity and genius even a fraction of theirs, I am more motivated than ever! Talk about fierce! -M

  3. Walking is also an excellent way to deal with grief or other overwhelming negative emotions. My husband and I clocked in some major miles in the midst of a few situations. It not only helped diffuse some stress; walking together — whether while talking or silently — helped us share the burden.

    1. Excellent point Natine – thank you for sharing. Walking-it-out together has to be just as beneficial as talking-it-out together and probably a great first step when talking seems too difficult or unproductive at the time. Sharing the burden makes us all stronger. – M

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