Even if you take short walks, the physical benefits of exercise will boost your emotional well-being. In addition, regular walking can help ease symptoms related to chronic mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. I also will share a link from Livestrong.com if you are interested in learning more about building muscle.
Walking is free! You can walk anywhere without equipment or a gym membership, and the more you do it, the more positive effects you’ll experience.
Build Lean Muscle
There are muscle-building benefits of walking. People who ramble/hike/take serious walks, and run marathons have such lean and shapely legs.
Do you want lean and shapely legs? Many people believe walking will make your legs bigger when it comes to staying fit. But unlike the general perception, more giant legs are caused due to stored fat rather than muscle. The fact is that when legs lose fat, it’s about shedding weight – right?
Walking makes your leg muscles work, and they will grow a little. But that’s only temporary because the muscles swell to take in nutrients and remove the waste. The swelling vanishes within 30 minutes to an hour.
You must participate in consistent strength training to build muscle mass or tone muscles. Weight-training exercises, such as squats, lunges, step-ups, deadlifts, and calf raises, target the muscles in your lower body.
Incorporating steps or hills into your walking routine may provide ( depending on the person) temporary minor muscle development. An excellent way to do this is with an inclined treadmill.
But the muscle size increases are likely to plateau rather quickly because your muscles will adapt to stress after a short time; thus, the walks will no longer provide enough of an overload.
The Benefits of Walking
There are numerous benefits of walking, and some of them are…
- Improved sleep
- better breathing
- Better endurance
- Stress relief
- Improvement in mood
- Increased energy and stamina
- Reduced tiredness can increase mental alertness
- Weight loss
- Reduced cholesterol and improved cardiovascular (heart) health.
Boost Your Mood
Walking helps boost your mood by increasing blood flow and blood circulation to the brain and body. It positively influences your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is your central nervous response system. The HPA axis is responsible for your stress response. When you exercise by walking, you calm your nerves, making you feel less stressed.
Make it Fun
You can invite friends to join you or take your dogs for a walk. Walking with others as little as one or two days per week can have enormous benefits. Research has shown that physical exercise combined with positive social interactions can improve negative moods, reduce depression, improve self-esteem, and thus energize your physical body. Start by walking three days a week for 10-30 minutes.
How to Create a Walking Routine
One of the best ways to begin a new walking routine is to start small and take it easy on yourself as you gradually build up endurance.
- To ensure the best injury-free experience, choose stable walking shoes, and before you leave home, stretch your legs, ankles, and feet to warm up. If you have one, take your mobile phone in case of energy. If it’s a little warm and you’re walking some distance, take a water bottle to avoid dehydration.
- Start at a relaxed pace, then build up to a brisk walk. Give yourself time to slow down again toward the end of your walk, bringing your heart rate down.
- Carve out a comfortable walking route each time you go out, then extend your distance over the next few days or weeks.
- Give yourself goals to reach and celebrate your wins. Remember, it’s sometimes about something other than the length of your route. It’s also about the quality of the walk and the benefits you get from doing it consistently.
If you are starting to walk for the first time, Let me know how you get on with it. If you are a veteran walker. Please share your experiences with me.
Remember you only have one life, so- Live Life on Purpose in Faith, Hope, and Love-Virtual hugs – Paula Rose
Hi -I’m an author and wellness consultant. I enjoy writing about Holistic Wellness and developing my business, Wellness4Women, to help women be happy, well, and healthy. This channel is about health, fitness, diet and wellness videos concentrating on a holistic preventive health approach. I have worked internationally with over 40 years of experience, having a Bachelor of Pastoral Counselling and Theology and a Master of Arts in Counselling & Professional Development.
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