School and professional sport events produce more attention and media coverage, but none of them approaches walking in number of participants.  It is the only exercise in which the rate of participation does not decline in the middle and later years. People do not “drop out” of this very popular fitness schedule because many people receive such pleasure from this physical activity.  Other people kick up a level of the healthy benefits they receive by using Nordic poles which provides a whole body complete workout.

Unlike tennis, running, skiing, and other activities that have gained great popularity fairly recently; walking has been widely practiced as a recreational and fitness activity throughout recorded history. Young adults tease that it is for the old people.  It has been proven that young adults have taken on a new outlook and are now calling it “exercise walking” and everyone is eligible to participate, regardless of age.   Today it is riding a wave of popularity that draws its strength from a rediscovery of the pleasure and health-giving qualities that it provides for everyone.   
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Last year the YMCA decided to give the kids in their local “after school” program a pedometer to wear for a few days to evaluate how active kids are in their lives.  My grandson was in the program and he turned in his pedometer only to discover that on an average day he walked 4,000 steps.  That surprised me because it seemed he went to school, sat in classes, ate in cafeteria, came home, ate dinner with family; homework and then to bed (with a little computer time built into his schedule).

I learned that a study had conducted to determine if pedometers are a successful way of encouraging young people to get active. Continue Reading »

I am shocked to learn from the latest research published in the June issue of the American Journal of Medicine that more people would prefer to “pop a pill” than to eat healthy and exercise for their diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease and other health problems.  It is always scary when you go to a doctor’s office, the physician walks in the room with his prescription pad in their hand.  Got a pain – pop this pill.  To improve your health there is no pill that is as potent and as powerful as eating healthy and exercise walking every day!

We hear, or read, everyday that living a healthy lifestyle by eating right and exercising is appropriate for every age group. However, over the past two decades exercise rates have dropped, fruit and vegetable intake has also fallen, and obesity rates have increased.  People are just plain tired of hearing the advice of “experts” saying eat this food or that food; exercise this way or exercise that way and so forth.  It is easier to pop a pill then create your own individual nutritional and exercise program. Continue Reading »

Walking is the most popular exercise in the nation because it is a social exercise.

It could even be argued that we’d be nicer to each other if we walked more. Ever see pedestrians make obscene gestures to each other?  My brother and I drove his boat from Indiana to Alabama on a vacation by route of a waterway.  I always said that boat people are the friendliest people in the world.  They all spoke to each other and helped each other.  However, I would put walkers right up there in top place as far as being social.  Continue Reading »

In a recent study of 37,000 people it was discovered that sedentary living which is defined as going from bed to car to chair to couch is a very serious health disease.  I’m sure this includes kids who sit at school most of the day; comes home to do homework; watches television or plays on the computer. 

We are all guilty of too much sitting.  Why does this matter?  By sitting we are building up a dangerous fat issue called visceral fat.  Visceral fat is the fat deep inside your belly, around your internal organs and can causes diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure and other medical diseases.  If you ever watch the “The Biggest Loser”, a weight loss television show, they have a doctor who visually shows the visceral (internal) fat of each contestant and how it effects their body age.  I was shocked the first time I visually saw the effects of The Sitting Disease and what it boiled down to – a sedentary life is and their dietary habits.  Continue Reading »

Everyone’s feet are different so there is no single “best shoe” for everyone. Did you know that the way you are built, your weight, the surfaces you plan to walk on, and the shape of your feet determine your “best shoe” fit?   

In all of the emails I receive the high rating subject is “shoes and socks” for walking.  There are specialty shoes stores all over the world and I am convinced that this is the only store walkers should drive to for the purpose of purchasing a properly fitting shoe.  I go a runner’s store that have shoes for walkers – and, let me tell you a secret – most of the times running shoes are the best shoes for walkers.  Are you surprised?  I was.  I started out by wearing “walking” shoes and had trouble because they were not flexible enough.   I now wear running shoes and I could walk for miles without my feet hurting.  How do I know if I’m wearing the right shoe for walking? Continue Reading »

Did you know that sunlight is every bit as important to our health and well-being as proper nutrition and clean water.

Our bodies make Vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight. Vitamin D gives us a protective effect on healthy bone density, muscle weakness, more than a dozen types of internal cancers, multiple sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes.  Don’t tell yourself I’ll just pop a Vitamin D pill and it will have the same effect.  There is nothing like natural sunshine and being outdoors because there are other reasons you will want to incorporate into your health program.  Such as: Continue Reading »

It’s not how fast you walk but how long you walk that’s important.  Let’s face it a three-minute walk from your car in the parking lot to your office building probably will not provide health benefits with the exception that you are “moving your body” by doing this activity.

 I’ve been trying to walk faster in my exercise walking program; however, the faster I walk the less distance I clock off because I get tired.  I have to remind myself “it is not how fast I walk, but how long I walk will produce the health benefits I am trying to achieve”. Continue Reading »

I want to talk with you today about your safety when you walk.  I subscribe to Google Alerts on the topic of walking.  There are so many “news” items reporting that a person walking got beaten and rob; or, got hit by a car; or, even shot to death.  We don’t like to think about these things when we are out in God’s nature absorbing the beauty.

We just need to think about a few safety things as we enjoy our walk toward our healthy lifestyle.  Continue reading this post for safety precautions you need to be aware of during your walk:

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