For many of us who enjoy a morning or afternoon stroll and call it exercise may need to make some adjustments to our routines. I see many clients who track their steps or count their minutes walking each day, but according to what I’ve seen clinically AND to two recent articles, a meandering walkabout isn’t enough.

If you’re already worried about having to upset your daily regimen, let me be clear that walking is indeed a form of exercise, but according to a Thorne Research Newsletter, “not all walking is exercise.” For those of us at our computers all day, living rather sedentary lives, moving is always better than not moving. If a slow-paced stroll is all you can muster, do it! It’s still vital to your health and well-being, but if you can kick it up a notch, there are many reasons to do so.

A good indicator to know if you’re walking “briskly” is to try to say a couple sentences. Are you out of breath? You’re doing it right. You should aim for 100-120 beats per minute while walking, or function at 50-70% of your maximum heart rate. This is where walking is considered to be moderately intense – that’s exercise. The faster you go, the better the cardiovascular benefit walking provides, and make sure to keep progressing with your walking when it becomes easy for you, pick up the pace. 

Increasing your walking speed to a brisk pace for at least 30 minutes a day, five or more days a week can support: increased cardiovascular fitness; strengthened bones; reduced excess body fat; reduced the risk of disease; improved blood flow and lowers blood pressure; increased blood oxygen levels; reduced depression and fatigue; increased sleep quality and creativity; improved posture; prevention of weight gain; and improved muscular endurance and posture. 

The CDC recommends that adults should aim for 10,000 steps a day, BUT that number seems to be quite arbitrary according to the latest research. Actually as few as 4,000 steps a day can have a great impact, especially when achieved at a brisk pace.10,000 steps a day is great, and a powerful goal, but you may not see the health results you’re looking for if you aren’t achieving a moderate clip, and it does appear that results plateau at around 7,500 steps, so more isn’t more – the pace is more powerful than how many footprints you leave behind. 

In addition to walking, certainly an accessible and beloved exercise especially for older people, it’s vital to add weight-bearing exercises to your fitness goals. As described in a recent New York Times article “‘people can do daily activities with a minimal amount of cardiovascular fitness [like walking]... but when they don’t have the strength or the muscle power to do daily activities, that’s when they lose their independence.’” 

To recap, walking is a great movement choice that’s free, enjoyable, and easily accessible for most of us. If you are someone who loves to walk daily / weekly it may be time to pick up the pace to reach your health goals instead of relying on your pedometer AND it’s smart to incorporate strength training into your daily / weekly schedule to ensure you are investing in long-term cardiovascular health and full-body ability and mobility.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Since 2005, Dr. Fey has helped women, men, and children find real solutions to their health concerns. She truly believes that giving the proper care and nutrients, your body has an amazing ability to heal. She is committed to finding the root cause of illness by utilizing a whole body approach not just focusing solely on presenting symptoms. With her scientific background, Dr. Fey uses science based natural approaches to treating disease.

Dr. Amanda Fey is the owner and practicing Naturopathic Doctor at Complementary Medicine & Healing Arts, the Southern Tiers Center for Natural Healthcare, located in the Binghamton NY area. The office website is www.naturallywell.us. Dr. Fey is currently offering telemedicine for patients all across the US. To contact the office, call 607-729-0591 or email cmhahealth@gmail.com.  

For weekly health tips, check out Dr. Fey’s social media pages! She’s on Instagram: @drfeynd and Facebook: Dr. Amanda Fey, ND.