Get Walking!

Yesterday, we talked about the difference between low and high impact exercise.  Today, I want to focus on the benefits of walking.  It is overlooked as a form of exercise, particularly as a way to just get started.  It is easy on the knees for most people, helps maintain flexibility and balance, and can help maintain bone density.  It is as effective as running for reducing your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.  It just takes twice as much time to get those benefits.  I’ll leave you with this from our third president, Thomas Jefferson: “Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far. The Europeans value themselves on having subdued the horse to the uses of man. But I doubt whether we have not lost more than we have gained by the use of this animal. No one has occasioned so much the degeneracy of the human body.”

Remember: before starting an exercise program, talk with your doctor first.