Walking Payoffs

If you are like me, then you didn't know that walking is a wonderful and low-impact way to jump-start your personal exercise program to natural health and beauty.

Why? It's easy on your joints and doesn't require much training.

Ok...I'll admit that I knew this method of Natural Health doesn't require much training.

However, there's more. The only equipment you really need is a good pair of shoes.

Exercise experts agree that walking regularly helps improve both our physical fitness and our emotional well-being. "It makes our bodies more functional, and it helps us feel and look better," says Jerome Brandon, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

How? Well, walking benefits the circulatory system directly. The heart gets stronger, enhancing the flow of oxygen to the brain, boosting our spirits, and making us feel better as well as providing us with extra energy.

Exercise Plan

Walking also makes the muscles stronger, says Dr. Brandon. Not only do the legs get a workout, but so do the lungs, and this makes our breathing and metabolism more efficient and builds overall stamina and endurance.

It can take off fat anywhere--from jelly belly to thunder thighs,claims Grant Gwinup, M.D.

When you get out and pound the pavement, you lose lard, not muscle. The pounds you drop are likely to be pure pudge. Muscle looks better than fat. It takes up less room, too, so your clothes fit better and feel looser. And muscle burns more calories than fat, even when you're asleep.

Senior Exercise

Walking can also help manage mild hypertension by reducing blood pressure. It prompts blood vessels to dilate, which reduces the resistance of blood flow.

Compared with other forms of exercise, it poses a minimal risk for injuries such as strained or pulled muscles. Finally, it helps relieve stress, a gain not to be discounted in our high-pressure world.

Get out and try it. Stick with it and you will see results!

Check out these links for additional information:

Fitness

Women's Health

Healthy Diets

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