Many people think walking is a lackadaisical form of exercise, but this is really far from the truth. Walking is actually one of the most fundamental ways to keep you physically fit no matter how old you are or what your current physical conditioning may be. Of course, you won’t put on much muscle from walking alone, but walking can help you retain the muscle you have, particularly in your legs, which are the biggest muscles of your body. You’ll notice that with very elderly people who hardly ever leave the house, over a long period of years of remaining indoors, they begin to lose their strength in their muscles and their ability to be mobile on their own. Just the daily habit of going for a walk can keep this from happening. Walking is also a great way to reset your metabolic set point. In other words, walking can help to rearrange your brain’s interpretation on how much you should weigh based on the amount of activity you do. Walking is also great for your body’s circulatory system. The body was created to move, and one of the best ways to achieve this is simply to get out and walk!
Of course you can’t go outside and walk for 20 minutes and think that you’re actually doing something. But by simply walking an hour a day, you’ll be amazed at the health benefits you can achieve. Walking for an hour outdoors can help you relieve stress on your body and your mind. Walking outside is definitely not the same as walking for an hour on a treadmill. If you have a dog, you have a perfect reason to go outside and walk. An hour of walking burns approximately 200 calories. That may not seem like much, but if you do that in combination with eating about 300 calories fewer per day, you’ll give yourself a deficit of about 500 calories, which will ultimately cause you to lose about a pound a week!