Introduction: We do the same thing every day, which is walking. From the moment you get up, you have to do the walking action. How does walking count as exercise? If you are interested, let’s take a look.
Intensity: Walk briskly for at least 40 minutes every day
Professors from Beijing Sport University believe that walking is definitely a good way to keep fit, but walking is divided into walking and brisk walking. Walking cannot achieve fitness effects. , only brisk walking can play a role in exercise to a certain extent.
As a fitness method with low exercise intensity, walking has good effects on the elderly and people with chronic diseases.
A study by the University of Pittsburgh found that people who walk fast have a lower mortality rate than those who walk slowly. Because brisk walking not only has a good exercise effect on the cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and respiratory systems, but also causes minimal damage to the body compared to other exercises.
An associate professor of the Sports Medicine Teaching and Research Section of the School of Physical Education believes that in order to ensure the effectiveness of exercise, brisk walking should be at least 40 to 60 minutes each time.
Many countries have put forward the slogan of "6,000 steps" or "10,000 steps" every day, which is actually a quantitative treatment of exercise time. Calculated at a frequency of about two steps per second, "6,000 steps" is about 40 minutes of brisk walking, while "10,000 steps" takes more than an hour.
People who have just started exercising can gradually increase the duration, starting with brisk walking for half an hour. When walking briskly, the heart rate should generally be maintained at 120 to 140 beats per minute, and sweating is optimal. Middle-aged and elderly people in good physical condition may not be able to achieve the sweating effect through brisk walking. At this time, jogging can be assisted to achieve a "walking and running combination" to achieve better fitness goals.
Posture: straight steps, bent arms
When people walk normally, they will have a slight "external and internal horoscope". A slight "internal and external horoscope" will not have any impact on the body. , but if the "internal and external" walking condition is serious, you need to make timely adjustments or even seek medical treatment.
Because people who are used to walking with "internal and external figures" will have different exertion and focus points from those of people who walk normally, causing excessive wear and tear on the hip joints and knees.
Using such a bad posture to exercise quickly will not only fail to achieve fitness effects, but will also aggravate knee and hip joint injuries. People with abnormal walking posture usually wear out their shoes faster than those who walk normally. It is recommended that people whose shoes always wear out in one place should go to the hospital for consultation and correct their walking style in time.
A professor from Beijing Sport University said that when walking fast, you should also adopt the correct arm swing posture, that is, a bent arm swing, because a straight arm swing can easily cause blood congestion in the arms and cause discomfort; while walking strides are not There are no requirements, as long as you feel comfortable.
Ways of walking exercise: a mix of forward walking, backward walking, and tiptoe walking
Many elderly people like to walk backwards, which is a good exercise method. Walking backwards can exercise the waist and back muscles that are rarely used in daily life and balance the exercise effect. In addition, walking on tiptoes can also exercise the leg muscles, especially the calf muscles, which can become tighter.
However, whether walking backwards or on tiptoes, they are both abnormal ways of walking and can easily cause damage to the hip joints and knees. Therefore, they can be used as auxiliary exercises, but they should not be carried out for too long. 5~10 minutes is better.
The professor suggested that after brisk walking, you can add some strength exercises to appropriately increase the intensity of exercise, especially exercises for upper limb strength such as push-ups or exercises.
Especially doing exercises is also beneficial to the recovery of the body. The professor reminded that it is best not to do brisk walking on cobblestones because it is easy to sprain your feet. Elderly people with diabetes should avoid it to avoid unknowingly causing foot injuries.
The best time for walking exercise: four or five o'clock in the evening is best
Many elderly people are used to exercising in the morning, but in the opinion of the professor, four or five o'clock in the evening is better. Because for the elderly with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, exercising in the morning is a high-risk factor for inducing disease attacks, and the air humidity in the morning is high, which is not conducive to the diffusion of pollutants. The air quality in many places is not good.
If you choose to exercise after dinner, you should do it half an hour after the meal, and control the end time of exercise to two hours before going to bed. For example, if you go to bed at 10 o'clock in the evening, you should end the exercise at 8 o'clock.
Because brisk walking will accelerate blood circulation and keep the body in a certain state of excitement. If the interval between finishing exercise and sleeping is too short, it can easily cause insomnia. After exercise, you should do something to calm your mood, such as reading a book, listening to soft music, etc., and then go to bed after your mood is stable.
Locations for walking exercises: The playground ground is soft and elastic, and the air in the park is good.
The professor believes that the side of the highway is the most unsuitable place for fast walking. This is not only because of the large traffic volume on the highway and the air The quality is poor and can easily cause harm to the respiratory system. More importantly, the asphalt road surface is too hard and can easily cause greater impact on knees and ankles.
Therefore, soft dirt roads and plastic playgrounds are the most suitable places for brisk walking. In addition, parks and residential areas are also good choices, because the air quality in these places is better, which can ensure that the respiratory system is not harmed too much during exercise.
Preparation for walking exercise: Wear a pair of soft-soled shoes and bring a bottle of boiled water.
Before walking quickly, you must make the following preparations.
First
Wear a pair of soft-soled running shoes to cushion the pressure on the soles of your feet when walking and protect your ankle joints from injury.
Second
Wear a pair of breathable socks and loose and comfortable sportswear to help your body relax.
Thirdly
It is best to bring a bottle of water. Replenishing water in small amounts during exercise can prevent dehydration; fourthly, it is best for diabetic patients to carry sugar cubes with them to prevent dehydration. A hypoglycemic accident occurred.
Safety guarantee for walking exercise: warm up first and do according to your ability
“The key to fast walking exercise is persistence.” The professor said that when you start exercising, you can walk once every other day to keep your body healthy. There is a process of slowly accepting it, but after gradually adapting, you must continue to exercise every day. Because brisk walking does not consume much energy and is a low-intensity exercise method, it must be persisted every day to achieve fitness effects.
However, since people’s mental and physical states are different every day, there are times when there is no need to force it. For example, middle-aged and elderly people with chronic diseases need to make timely adjustments to their exercise intensity based on their physical state. Adjustment. When the condition is not good, you can reduce the amount appropriately or even stop walking; when the condition is good, you can exercise more for a while as your body allows.
In order to avoid injuries during exercise, do some warm-up activities to stretch your limbs before walking quickly to prevent strains caused by excessive strides; when choosing a route, be sure to avoid construction sites or Other rougher roads.