Maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires a good balance between diet and exercise, no matter what you’re trying to achieve.
Whether you want to lose weight, protect your heart, or simply improve your overall health, exercise is an absolute must.
To lose weight the healthy way, the key is to burn more calories than you eat. For most women, it takes a deficit of 500 calories a day to lose just one pound a week.
Though 500 calories may sound like a lot to cut out every single day, you could probably slash about 250 just by forgoing one snack.
So, what about the other 250 calories you need to cut? Burn them off—by walking!
A light stroll around the block after dinner can offer some serious health benefits, lowering your risk of just about everything from heart disease to depression.
When trying to lose weight, walking probably doesn’t even cross your mind—but it should.
You’ve probably heard that running is better than walking when it comes to burning calories, and that’s technically true.
However, running only torches more calories because it’s a high-intensity workout, meaning you’re working harder in a shorter amount of time to burn extra fat.
Although running can burn more calories in 30 minutes than lightly walking can in an hour, many of us dread the thought of running for even 10 minutes.
Not only is it bad for your knees and joints, but runners are no healthier than walkers in the long-run. Why force yourself to do something you hate if there’s no real benefit to it?
There is a better way to exercise if you love walking. All you have to do is turn your leisurely stroll into a power walk.
Like running, power walking is a high-intensity workout that raises your heart rate, gets the blood pumping, and forces your body to scorch fat to keep you moving.
The only real difference is that power walking isn’t bad for your knees or joints.
Even when you’re lightly jogging, one of your feet must be suspended through the air for a short period of time, so it still hits the pavement hard every time you move.
According to Health.com, power walking (5 mph pace) can burn up to 564 calories per hour—almost as much as an hour of running, without destroying your knees.
When it comes to a full-body workout that protects your heart, challenges your muscles, and helps you lose weight, walking is something you can do anywhere at any time.
What is your favorite workout? Tell us in the comments!
