On Walking
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, says the Chinese philosopher...
So can a personal fitness regime start with a single step. Many people say that they cannot exercise: no time, no skills etc. but everybody, who walks, exercises every day. Perhaps not enough. Once upon a time, we humans walked while hunting and gathering and burned enough calories through that. We still could… if we walked enough steps. So why not start counting towards a number of steps that would keep you fit as part of your daily lives?
Exercise specialists say that the difference between being fit or unfit, between gaining weight or losing weight (or keeping your healthy weight for good) can be as little as an additional 2000 steps per day. If you want to know how many steps you are already taking on a single day, you can do so by attaching a simple step counter (also known as pedometer) to your clothing. It will tell you at the end of the day, how many steps you walked and how much that would be measured as a distance in miles or kilometres. A simple one, measuring steps and distances, is cheap to buy, easy to use and with modern technology, quite accurate.
So can a personal fitness regime start with a single step. Many people say that they cannot exercise: no time, no skills etc. but everybody, who walks, exercises every day. Perhaps not enough. Once upon a time, we humans walked while hunting and gathering and burned enough calories through that. We still could… if we walked enough steps. So why not start counting towards a number of steps that would keep you fit as part of your daily lives?
Exercise specialists say that the difference between being fit or unfit, between gaining weight or losing weight (or keeping your healthy weight for good) can be as little as an additional 2000 steps per day. If you want to know how many steps you are already taking on a single day, you can do so by attaching a simple step counter (also known as pedometer) to your clothing. It will tell you at the end of the day, how many steps you walked and how much that would be measured as a distance in miles or kilometres. A simple one, measuring steps and distances, is cheap to buy, easy to use and with modern technology, quite accurate.
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An average person in the modern society walks 3-4000 steps per day. You might find that you are already walking that or more. Reaching 6000 steps per day already contributes to an improved cardiovascular health. The benchmark of an active lifestyle is generally set by 10.000 steps/ per day, meaning that walking in itself would keep you quite fit with that many steps. Pedometers not only show you your present baseline walking activity, but motivate you to find ways to increase your daily steps.
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Pedometer
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By finding simple ways to increase your steps you can become fitter, and reach a good weight and good feeling in general. »Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness«, says Soren Kirkegaard. His are beautiful words that ring true: walking brings us into a state of well-being, motivates our thoughts and calms our nervous system.
There are many ways for additional little routes to walk while going through our daily routine. We might even find that situations we previously found inconvenient, we have now re-framed into fitness opportunities: parking spaces too far from our destination… how lovely! The elevator is out of order: a free work-out on the stairs! Adding a stroll to lunch-times (even short breaks, if we don’t have a proper lunch-hour) will not only increase the number of steps we are taking, but our efficiency at work. I will sharpen our concentration and make us less in need for coffee or tee. We can invite our friend to have a walk with us instead of going into a cafe. The best trainer of all, of course, is a dog, by taking us to regular walks. With a dog we will find it very easy to achieve 10.000 steps/day. Even if you can’t have your own dog, maybe you have a friend whose pet would enjoy some extra exercise, or can do some dog-sitting.
Walking raises body awareness, which is our natural heritage and natural make-up. We are meant to move, because moving is life itself...
There are many ways for additional little routes to walk while going through our daily routine. We might even find that situations we previously found inconvenient, we have now re-framed into fitness opportunities: parking spaces too far from our destination… how lovely! The elevator is out of order: a free work-out on the stairs! Adding a stroll to lunch-times (even short breaks, if we don’t have a proper lunch-hour) will not only increase the number of steps we are taking, but our efficiency at work. I will sharpen our concentration and make us less in need for coffee or tee. We can invite our friend to have a walk with us instead of going into a cafe. The best trainer of all, of course, is a dog, by taking us to regular walks. With a dog we will find it very easy to achieve 10.000 steps/day. Even if you can’t have your own dog, maybe you have a friend whose pet would enjoy some extra exercise, or can do some dog-sitting.
Walking raises body awareness, which is our natural heritage and natural make-up. We are meant to move, because moving is life itself...
If you seek creative ideas go walking.
Angels whisper to a man when he goes for
a walk.”
(Raymond Myers)