The Health Benefits Of Walking. Let's Walk!

If you think about it, walking is one of the most accessible forms of exercise available to us. Before we look at all the health benefits to be gained from walking, let's first look at the pros without even having to lace up our walking shoes.

• It's free.
• It's easy.
• It's convenient.
• It doesn't require sports equipment or practice.
• It can be modified to individual preference, so it's flexible.

Now that we've clarified the non health benefits of walking, let's move on to the health benefits.

It promotes mental wellness. Mental health is becoming more recognized as a valid illness and concern in today's society. Regular walking has been proven to boost endorphins which reduce stress hormones and in turn improve overall mood and self esteem.

It improves balance as it helps build lower body strength, which reduces the likelihood of falling over.

Regular walking increases cardiovascular fitness. Even though walking is less vigorous than jogging or running, it still increases heart rate enough to improve cardio fitness over time.

Unlike jogging or running, walking is gentle on your joints, so therefore it is a physically less demanding and safer form of exercise.

Regular walking burns calories which helps maintain a healthy weight and reduces excess body fat.

Regular walking boosts muscle power and endurance.

Walking is an aerobic form of exercise. It reduces the risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and stroke.

Regular walking improves circulation so it is ideal for controlling high blood pressure.

With all the benefits that walking has to offer it makes it a very popular mode of exercise.

Let's walk!