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Walking has gained a reputation as a great form of exercise that is easy and accessible to many people, and numerous studies have shown that the popular activity has numerous health benefits.
Taking at least 2,300 steps a day can reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. A study In the 2023 edition of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
They also say that weight-bearing exercises like walking can help prevent osteoporosis Another study Published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
However, some health and fitness experts say that while walking is good for your health and fitness, it is not a high-quality form of exercise. One such expert is Melissa Boyd, a certified personal trainer and coach with Tempo, an online personal training platform. Boyd is based in San Francisco.
“Our lives are so busy — we travel, we sit all day, and then we’re tired at night — just taking a short walk makes you feel like you’ve done something big and expressive,” Boyd said. But walking requires basic physical activity to keep your body functioning properly, helping with things like circulation and digestion, and detoxification.
To help clients better understand why a daily walk to the beach does not bring body – which many believe, thanks to various social media influencers – tells them the three types of activity are important for overall health and fitness.
First is the movement your body owes or needs every day, such as walking, stretching, and bending. Second is athletic activity that you can do a few times a week to improve your fitness or train for a sport. The third is social activities you do for fun or to meet others, such as dancing or playing volleyball.
“It’s important to think about movement in these different categories because not moving all day has become the norm,” Boyd said. “Our lives are so static, many of us are trying to dig ourselves out of a lack of movement. But exercise is different from physical activity.
Walking is great, but it’s only a unidirectional form of movement, and the body needs more to function functionally, says Dr. Carl Cirino, MD, a sports medicine specialist at HSS Orthopedics at Stamford Health in Connecticut.
People use the muscles and tendons in their bodies to help them bend, twist and rotate in their daily lives, Sirino said. Yoga and Pilates are two very effective and healthy activities in this regard, he said.
“Stretching is also incredibly easy, and it’s something you can do when you wake up and before you go to bed,” Cirino said.
Having loose, flexible muscles also gives you more balance and stability, which helps prevent falls and injuries during all physical activities, he says. It’s also good to get your heart rate up several times a week for cardiovascular health.
Ideally, you should create a plan that includes daily “borrowed” activities like walking and stretching, some cardiovascular work, strength training and social activities sprinkled throughout the week, the two said. But this may seem difficult to many.
Snacking all of these different activities into post-workout meals is one way to sneak in the activity your body needs, says Boyd.
“Maybe get a walking pad and do some of your meetings while walking slowly on the sidewalk,” she said. “Maybe you do 20 squats every time you go to the bathroom or 10 push-ups against a wall every time you get water. You can make these practice snacks even more fun if you pair them with something else you’re doing. I have seen great success with this.
Boyd encourages her clients to find an activity that doesn’t feel like exercise, like playing kickball or pickleball. That way, you’re getting healthy while having fun and being social.
Sirino agrees. “We see kids here in sports medicine whose parents want them to play baseball, but they don’t want to do it,” he said. “So is exercise. You should find something fun and simple – maybe an activity your friends are doing – and use it as a foundation to build good habits.
Start slow and build up
Rethinking exercise as regular activities can be a way to give yourself permission to make time for practicality, fitness and social connection, as well as exercise, Boyd said.
It’s important to keep in mind that creating an exercise plan doesn’t require an immediate or drastic change in your lifestyle. In fact, it’s best to start slowly with new, smaller activities.
“What I see most of the time is that people like it the way it starts to feel,” Boyd said. “Then the stronger you get, the more you want to move. Movement begets movement.
Melanie Radzicki McManus He is a freelance writer specializing in hiking, travel and fitness.