Walking - Top Bonus Benefits
Still not convinced that walking is the exercise for you?
We?ve presented all the conventional reasons for starting a regular walking program. But there are also two bonus reasons why taking up walking is one of the best habits you can cultivate. You?ll be surprised at what they are!
The next time you think you need Viagra, try taking a walk instead. As strange as this may sound, it?s the advice of the American Council on Exercise. Walking can be just as effective in improving your performance in the bedroom as taking prescription medication.
Subscribe to our newsletter & get: "Ten Habits of Extraorinarily Healthy People"
In fact, those who ?exercise regularly are going to have increased levels of desire.? That?s according to Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., the chief exercise physiologist for the council. Why? Walking promotes the body?s release of hormones needed for sexual arousal.
Here?s another stunning reason for starting a walking program. According to the American Heart Association, those who start an exercise even as simple as walking are more likely to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke on a daily basis. Some individuals who have started exercising were even able to quit smoking altogether.
The relief of stress combined with the adrenaline release from the exercise actually replace feelings that are similar to those smokers receive when they light up, according to many cessation programs.
The Archives of Internal Medicine report that in one study, researchers followed 281 sedentary female smokers. One group was told to exercise three times a week. The second group was given no such directive. Those women who exercised were twice as likely to quit smoking by the end of 12 weeks.
But that?s not all. At the end of a full year, more of the second group were still smoke free than those who didn?t exercise.
Now isn?t it about time to drop that cigarette, put on those walking shoes and hit the pavement?
Take another look at that prescription your health care practitioner wrote out for you: Walking. Take 3X a week. 30 minutes a day.
It?s certainly looking like a more inviting possibility all the time, now isn?t it? And knowing that you don?t need to be a speed walker in order to gain those many benefits, makes the thought of starting a walking program a lot less intimidating.
So why don?t you start ? as soon as possible. Start at your own speed . . . at your own distance. Maybe you?re in good enough shape to walk out your door right now and do a good brisk 30-minute walk. That?s great!
But don?t get discouraged if you can?t. You may have to work up to 30 minutes a day. No shame there. And no need to get disillusioned. Walk the little you can today. Resolve to walk just a little bit farther tomorrow. One woman we know claims to have started her walking program at age 55, marking the distance not in miles ? or even feet ? but by the number of her neighbors? houses she could pass.
Today, she?s doing her 30 minutes a day, three times a week. She?s feeling better than ever. If she can do it, so can you. Your health ? and your life ? depend on it!
