My son-in-law had kidney cancer operation this week and is currently in the hospital healing. He has all of the tubes in his body that are foreign to his existence and has not eaten anything but shaved ice for the last 4 days. His doctor came to visit him this morning and said “You are not going to get back to normal until we get you up and start walking”.
That statement reinforces the turth in that we have to get up and walk to achieve our healthy life goals. I will always remember the doctor telling my son-in-law that when I just don’t feel like take my daily walk. Don’t sit around and think you will get back to your normal lifestyles of being a healthy person – you won’t! Get up/move your body/and walk. Just do it – take your daily walk!
If you don’t like walking alone, invite your spouse, partner, friend or neighbor to join you or start your own walking group. If you crave solitude and want to be on your own is the perfect workout. If you’d rather look to others for inspiration, don’t go it alone. Start a walking group today! The charities have the largest groups possible and they bring everyone together to physically gather to crowd the streets several times a year. The charities set their dates and people spread the word to each other in a simple way; such as “Are you going to walk for the American Cancer Association?” This also applies to you if you would like to organize a group in your neighborhood. Start talking about your group and watch your group be created by people advertising it “by word of mouth”. Continue Reading »
People often ask me if poles could help them get more out of their exercise walking program and give them a better workout. The answer is absolutely.
Let me explain the benefits. With one pole in each hand, you grip the handles and push off with each stride. As you walk they work your arms, shoulders, chest and upper back muscles through a full range of motion. Think of it as cross-country skiing for walkers. The arm movement adds intensity to your aerobic workout, which can help you burn more calories and lose weight/inches.
The main benefit of pole walking is when your arms are moving you achieve balance and stability. And that’s not all of it. Before I started using them I noticed after about one mile my lower back, hips and knees were hurting. I started studying the health benefits of this particular exercise, which is called Nordic Walking, and I decided I was going to try it out before I could recommend it to my readers. Continue Reading »
We clap our hands, grab the video recorder, call our family and friends and celebrate when our Toddler takes their first walking steps. It is a joyful experience.
The Baby Boomers are facing getting older themselves and many have the responsibility of making sure their elderly parents are as healthy as possible. One way this is accomplished is getting our parents to stand up and take a walk for their health. It is important in our lives to get up and move our body in whatever way we can.
We use to hear that retirement will be filled with days sitting on a front porch sitting in our rocking chairs full of memories to talk about with our friends. Now we know this is the worst thing we can do to stay healthy. The philosophy of people working all of their lives to prepare for retirement and then sit around waiting to die is gone. Continue Reading »
