College Health TV
Living in a country of plenty makes it hard to stay on track when it comes to exercising and eating healthy. More people than ever are concerned about their weight, so it’s just natural to want to burn extra calories the easiest way possible.
The problem is finding the time to exercise even if you are eating healthy. Jobs, the commute, and family time have to come first, leaving little time to head to the gym for an hour.
Walking is the easiest way to burn calories and exercise your heart and lungs as well. It takes very little time out of your day to burn 100 calories. In fact, 15-20 minutes of walking will take you a mile and burn those 100 calories. If you can double that to 30 minutes you will burn 200 calories, which could very well make the difference in losing an extra two pounds per month.
While doing more strenuous exercises, you may be able to burn a few more calories, but it’s going to be a lot harder on your body.
You may think these other exercises will burn calories faster, but take a look at the list below.
• Bike Riding burns 100 calories per 14-16 minutes
• Dance exercise burns 100 calories per 15 minutes
• Some advanced exercise equipment will burn 100 calories per 10-12 minutes
Why Choose Walking
• Walking is easier to do than most exercises.
• No exercise clothes are needed.
• No equipment is needed other than walking shoes.
• It can be done almost anywhere.
• It can be done by anyone whose mobility isn’t super limited.
• Walking is easier on your body than most exercises.
How to Know if You’ve Walked a Mile
If you live in the city, you can count on residential blocks running 16-20 blocks per mile. It isn’t an exact count so to be sure you might want to invest in a pedometer. A pedometer counts your steps and lets you know when you’ve reached a mile.
There are also phone apps that will measure your walking, but the phone must be with you during the walks to take the measurements.
Garmin and Fitbit have come out with watches you can wear that not only measure your steps and miles, they also measure your heart rate and blood pressure. While these are not necessary to have success, they do help keep you on track.
How to Fit Walking Into a Busy Schedule
Again, time is always a factor for busy people but walking is so easy to fit into your schedule. You can take walks on your lunch break to get part of your miles in and if you work in a building with lots of floors you can take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Always park your car as far from the work entrance as possible. Those extra steps you take during the day add up to miles much faster than you’d think.
Walk everywhere and every time you can to get your daily steps in. It only takes a few extra minutes a day to do this. Try to walk at least 15 minutes a day besides all the extra times you fit walking in for the best result. You can walk off those extra pounds and walk your way to a healthier life.
