Sitting for a long time at work makes you feel that you have no time to exercise? Or want to start building an exercise habit, but don’t know where to start?
The “Wall Street Journal” suggests that perhaps you can try to change your “walking style”! Because when walking, if you can combine speed, strength, slope, etc. to form high-intensity exercise, the calories burned are not inferior to running, or even high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
It turns out that walking can not only relieve psychological stress and benefit heart health, but also create high-intensity exercise effects, prolong life, and burn calories. It has become one of the easiest ways to achieve the amount of exercise recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO): more than 150 minutes a week Moderate-intensity exercise, or vigorous-intensity exercise for more than 75 minutes.
But how to walk is a science. The Mayo Clinic (Mayo Clinic) in Minnesota has been the best hospital in the United States for many years. According to Thomas Allison (Thomas Allison), director of the Department of Sports Cardiology: “It is more important to walk “quality” than how many steps you take. .”
One, speed!Fast walking reduces the risk of cancer, combined with intermittent reduction of three highs
It really doesn’t matter if you can’t walk 10,000 steps a day! According to the latest research published by Cambridge University in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) at the end of February, just 11 minutes of brisk walking (equivalent to 75 minutes per week) can reduce the risk of premature death by 23%, 17 % risk of cardiovascular disease, 7% risk of cancer.
Leandro Garcia, a professor of public health at Queen’s University Belfast, pointed out that especially daily life can be combined with brisk walking to exert the above benefits. Such as walking to work or school, standing up and playing with children or pets, carrying heavy objects while shopping, etc. all count.
And if you combine brisk walking with intermittent, it can create more health benefits! In terms of efficiency, Allison gave an example. Walking at a leisurely pace for 40 minutes burns the same amount of calories as 20 minutes of intermittent brisk walking, which takes only half the time.
Hiroshi Nose, a special professor at Shinshu University School of Medicine in Japan, mentioned in the book “Changing the way you walk can make you 10 years younger” that you only need to dial 30 minutes a day, alternately walking for 3 minutes and walking slowly for 5 times. In less than half a year, the three highs and knee pain can be improved, and the thigh muscle mass can be increased by 10%.
Two, work hard!Elevating feet, swinging arms, and walking can burn calories
Going exaggerated can really burn calories! In the popular British comedy show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” (Monty Python’s Flying Circus) in the 1970s, Chris (John Cleese), who played the role of a civil servant, walked in a strange way of “straight upper body and big stride lower body” The method “Silly Walks” became an instant hit.
Unexpectedly, a study published in the “British Medical Journal” (BMJ) in November last year found that the energy consumed by “stupid steps” was 2.5 times higher than that of ordinary walking. Glenn Gaesser, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Health Solutions and one of the authors of the study, explained that it’s not really necessary for everyone to walk like Chris, but “by taking high steps a few times a day, you don’t need to spend extra money. With time, anyone can increase their metabolic rate.”
Allison added that if you want to lose weight, but running makes your joints uncomfortable, you can also add swinging arms, race walking (both feet cannot leave the ground at the same time), etc. to increase walking intensity.
Three, slope!Less impact on the joints than running, plus weight loss
Walking combined with slopes is a “Low Impact” training mode that challenges the muscles and heart capabilities, which can reduce knee compression and not excessively damage joints. Fitness trainer Abrea Wooten told The Wall Street Journal that she herself wears a weighted vest and walks uphill on a treadmill in preparation for ultramarathons.
Those who want to lose weight can try the “12-3-30 walking method” created by American TikTok celebrity Lauren Giraldo in recent years. She didn’t have much interest in fitness. In order to make exercise more interesting, she adjusted the incline setting of the treadmill. Unexpectedly, she lost 30 pounds (about 13 kilograms).
“12-3-30” means that the treadmill is set to: 12% incline, 3 miles per hour (about 4.8 kilometers), and a time limit of 30 minutes. Hirod suggested that you can start with a slope of 0.5%, and gradually increase it by 1% to 2% every week. The quadriceps on the front of the thigh and the hamstrings on the back of the thigh are both demanding extra work, so they can double the calories burned.
Wooden believes that walking as exercise can also be fun! You can even walk on the beach while on vacation, using the uneven sand to help stabilize your muscles; or find a new path on a scenic hill, and apply the above walking tips to enjoy the scenery along the way.
(Author: Qiu Yunzhen; this article is sponsored by “Business weekly“Authorized to reprint; the source of the first picture:Unsplash）
