If You Don’t Like Running, Walk

As someone who has had a difficult time overcoming the physical obstacles beginners usually confront with when first starting to run, I can understand those who don’t like this type of activity. It takes time, effort and pain to develop lung resistance, endurance and leg muscles. Some people develop the skills required quickly, others need a longer time. Because each body reacts differently to intense effort, some people don’t find running to their liking. Luckily, running is not an all or nothing sport. There are other options one can try, and walking is one of them.

Walking is the easiest form of running and it comes with the same important advantages: health and happiness. A study published in the ‘Archives of Internal Medicine’ on November 14, 2005 confirmed that walking constantly for 30 minutes a day adds 1.3 healthy years to your life. Another study published by Dr. Heinz Drexel in the’American Heart Association Scientific Sessions’ in November, 2004 confirmed that walking downhill lowers blood sugar, while walking uphill provides great cardio exercise.

Knowing all these advantages, what may stop you from exercising regularly is time or place. In this case, you should consider the treadmill. With a treadmill at home, you can exercise any time of day, independently of the weather outside. Moreover, you can multitask and do the same things as if you were sitting on the couch: watch the news, read the paper, have a conversation with your partner or listen to your favorite music. Additionally, you can create yourself a diverse training program that combines hill workouts, long steady runs and even downhill exercises, if your treadmill supports decline.

I’d like to give you a head start and share with you a workout that you can do on the treadmill daily. The next exercise is created with RunReviews Creator tool, which lists also the number of calories you can burn based on user weight (in this scenario 175 lbs / 79 kg), as well as the option to print the exercise. Just a heads-up before we get started. Since I’m not a professional trainer, please consider that you’ll be using this exercise at your own risk. A physical check-up and the confirmation from a professional doctor are always recommended before you engage in any type of exercise.

If you want to make the exercise more interesting, attach to yourself a wireless chest strap and monitor the heart rate. The heart rate is a good indicator of how tiresome an exercise is for your body, so you can decrease or increase the intensity, as you need it.

And remember. If you’re given the choice to go out for a walk, don’t miss out on it. Take advantage of every occasion to be active and enjoy it. Exercising is a spring of health for anyone who wants to try it.