Wellness walking. Techniques for health-improving jogging and walking. Arguments for walking

There are walking walking - slow, at a speed of 3-4 km / h, recreational (6.0-6.5 km / h) and sports (over 7 km / h). Health-improving walking differs from walking in active repulsion of the foot from the support and the inclusion of the muscles of the thigh and pelvis, which dramatically increases energy consumption and its efficiency. According to the technique, such walking is somewhat reminiscent of sports. At an appropriate speed (up to 6.5 km/h), its intensity can reach the training mode of the aerobic zone (with a heart rate of 120-130 beats/min), which allows it to be used as part of various rehabilitation programs and as a health remedy.

In the United States, for example, 53 million people are engaged in accelerated walking (speedwalking), according to the Gallup Institute. For 1 hour of such walking, from 300 to 400 kcal or more is consumed (0.7 kcal / kg per 1 km of the distance traveled). With daily recreational walking for 1 hour, the total energy consumption per week will be about 2000 kcal, which will provide the necessary healing effect. So, after 12 weeks of training in health-improving walking (5 times a week for 1 hour), the exercisers showed an increase in BMD by 14% compared to the initial level.

However, such a high result is possible only in unprepared beginners with a low level of BMD. In more trained athletes, the healing effect gradually decreases. Increasing the walking speed above 6.5 km/h is difficult, as it is accompanied by a sharp increase in energy consumption. That is why at speeds over 7 km/h it is easier to run slowly than to walk. Therefore, accelerated walking as an independent health remedy can be recommended only if there are absolute contraindications to running (for example, in the early stages of rehabilitation after myocardial infarction). In the absence of serious disturbances in the activity of the cardiovascular system, it is usually used only at the initial, preparatory stage of health training in debilitated or elderly people with low functionality. In the future, with the growth of fitness and an increase in the functional state, recreational walking should be replaced by running training, otherwise its effectiveness will decrease significantly.

A group of scientists from the University of Washington observed 11 overweight men and women aged 60-65 with impaired cholesterol metabolism. The body weight of the patients averaged 75 kg with a height of 161 cm. At the first stage of training (3 months), only walking was used at a speed of 6 km/h with a pulse of 96 beats/min 5 times a week for 30 minutes, after which an increase in BMD was noted by 12%. For the next 6 months, the walking speed was increased to 6.0-6.5 km / h with a pulse of 120-130 beats / min, as a result of which the BMD increased by another 6%, and the cholesterol content in the blood decreased from 256 to 238 mg%.

Thus, the debate about what is healthier - walking or running - is meaningless, since in both cases we are talking about aerobic endurance training and the difference is only in its intensity, which depends on the preparedness of the trainees.

Training begins with a regular walking walk at your usual pace. Start with 20 minutes and gradually increase your walking time to 40-60 minutes 3-4 times a week, depending on how you feel. In the future, the number of classes can be increased up to 5-6 times. With an increase in fitness, the walking speed will involuntarily gradually increase first to 5.0, and then to 6.0 km / h. The purpose of this stage of training is to learn how to overcome 5 km in 45 minutes with a heart rate of no more than 110-120 beats / min (this is a test by the Australian doctor R. Gibbs).

Depending on the state of health and preparedness, it may take from several weeks to several months of regular training to achieve this goal, and possibly more if there are absolute contraindications to running. In this case, accelerated walking becomes the main means of health training for a long time. If there are no contraindications to running, then after the preparatory course of walking, you can gradually move on to its logical continuation - health-improving running.

In conclusion, we note that we do not recommend walking (as well as running) according to special tables, which clearly indicate in which week how many kilometers you need to walk and at what speed, for example, according to K. Cooper's walking tables or any others. Because the state of health and physical fitness of people of mature age are very different, and it is impossible to give a single training scheme for everyone. In each individual case, progress will be different, and the speed of walking and its duration will also be different. An increase in the duration of walking and its speed should occur naturally as a result of an increase in fitness and imperceptibly for the practitioner himself, without any violence and forcing training loads. Only in this case, you can count on a positive result in terms of improving health.

3.3. Wellness Walking Technique

The most popular and most affordable means of health training are walking and running. However, data from medical supervision indicate that 25-50% of people who have started recreational running are forced to either completely stop or interrupt training for a long time due to pain in various parts of the spine or in the joints of the legs.

Why is this happening? A well-known specialist in biomechanics, Professor V. M. Zatsifsky writes: "70-80% of men over 30 years old have one or another pathology in the spine and various neurological diseases associated with it - sciatica, etc." One of the most common hypotheses explaining the origin of such diseases is as follows: naturally, the human musculoskeletal system is adapted to walking barefoot on soft ground. He also walks in hard shoes on hard surfaces. Under these conditions, each step is a kind of blow. The shock wave, spreading throughout the body, reaches the intervertebral discs and causes one or another pathology. This issue was studied by scientists: accelerometer sensors were implanted into bone tissue.

Enormous g-forces have been registered that spread through the body when walking fast on a hard surface. They are especially large on the heels ... somewhat smaller on the lower leg. Overloads reach the spine and head. When such strokes are repeated continuously for many years and a million such strokes accumulate, it is not surprising that pathology arises.

Recommendations for the prevention of the adverse effects of fast walking (according to experts, it becomes healthy when it is performed at a pace of 120 steps per minute or more) are usually associated with the selection of soft coverings and rational shoes. Indeed, both are very important. Walking on soft ground, a garden or forest path, carpeted with foliage, is not only safe (in terms of overload), but also simply pleasant. Therefore, think carefully about your training routes, it is best to get to the nearest park or countryside.

The stiffness of the ground can also be compensated by increasing the cushioning properties of the shoe. Put foam insoles of various softness and thickness into shoes, wear thick woolen socks. Be sure to choose shoes with elastic bending soles. This allows you to include in the work all the numerous joints of the tarsus and metatarsus, to activate the relatively small muscles of the foot. If the shoes have a hard sole and especially tight lacing, then when walking, almost only the ankle joint works, which contributes to the overload of various parts of the foot, and impedes blood circulation.

In addition to shoes and the quality of the track, walking technique deserves attention. Rational walking dramatically reduces shaking and shock waves. Strive to minimize (it is impossible to completely avoid them) vertical movements of the body when walking. It is they who mainly generate pulsating overloads and microvibrations. Therefore, do not rush to separate the heel of the pushing leg from the support - this should happen after the free leg has passed the vertical. Otherwise, the so-called vertical walking is observed, in which the center of mass of the body moves up and down by about 5-9 cm at each step. Late separation of the heel allows you to direct the repulsion more forward than up.

Strict control over your movements is especially necessary in the first lessons. In the future, gradually - rather quickly - the necessary skill is developed. It is so strong and precise that the on and off times of individual muscles (when walking under normal conditions) can differ by only thousandths of a second.

Proper walking is beautiful. There is a feeling of non-stop, smooth body movements. Steps are no longer perceived as separate motor acts, and each movement naturally flows into the overall rhythm. Among other things, such walking is very economical. The energy saved at each step allows you to significantly increase the range of transitions.

3.4. Dosage of loads for people with minimal deviations in health status

In order to properly dose the load, you need to run with a watch with a second hand and learn how to measure your pulse. It is better to do this by placing the fingers on the neck in front (carotid artery projection) or on the wrist (radial artery projection). When running, the pulse is measured for 10 seconds, immediately after stopping. For example, you ran 1-2 laps, stopped and immediately measured your pulse without delay in 10 seconds.

First stage. At this stage, it is necessary to maintain the pulse during the entire jogging at the level of 18-20 beats per 10 seconds. If even the slowest jogging is accompanied by a pulse exceeding 20 beats in 10 seconds, then you should switch to walking.

In general, the tactic should be something like this: you ran 1-2 laps at a slow pace, stopped and immediately measured your pulse in 10 seconds. If the number of strokes is less than 18, then it is necessary to add running speed, if more than 20 - run more slowly or switch to walking. After running (or passing) another circle, stop again and measure the pulse and, if necessary, change the pace. After you find the right pace for running (or walking), stop and check your pulse every 2-3 laps. Over time, you will learn to roughly determine the pulse by how you feel, and you can stop less often.

In the first two to three weeks, run for 10 minutes 3 times a week, then you can gradually increase the time to 20 minutes. Do not rush to increase the load, be attentive to your feelings. Excessive load, especially in the early stages, when the body has not yet adapted to this type of physical stimulation, can cause a stress reaction and exacerbate the disease. If the background conditions (and especially nutrition) are correct, then the best guideline is your own well-being. Just like any other form of exercise, running should be fun.

Second phase. From about the 5th week, you can gradually increase the load by increasing the speed so that while running, the pulse is 22-24 beats in 10 seconds (and over time, bring it up to 23-25 ​​beats in 10 seconds). The duration of one lesson is 20 minutes. Let me remind you once again that you need to run every other day or 3 times a week.

To maintain health, such a running load is quite enough, especially for people involved in other types of physical exercises. For those who want to go further, I recommend turning to the book by E. G. Milner "I choose running."

3.5. self control

When running, it is very important not to overdose, especially for the elderly and people with changes in the cardiovascular system. Recall that the main load when running falls on the cardiovascular system, and catastrophes in this system - heart attack, stroke - are very dangerous. Therefore, self-control is very important. The adequacy of the load can be traced by the following tests:

Check your heart rate 10 minutes after you finish running. If it is above 100 beats per minute, then the load was excessive.

orthostatic test. Count the pulse for one minute while lying in bed in the morning, immediately after waking up, then slowly get up and measure the pulse after one minute while standing. If the standing pulse exceeds the initial value by 20, then this indicates that the loads are excessive, the body does not have time to recover. Loads must be reduced and it is better not to run for a week at all, but to engage in other types of physical exercises, better hatha yoga and relaxation. Note that such a difference in pulses can also be with cleaning, exacerbation of a chronic disease, or with violations in the diet.

If the difference in pulses is not more than 12, the loads are adequate to your capabilities. The difference of 16-18 strokes indicates that the magnitude of the load is at the limit of permissible.

As your physical abilities increase, the value of the orthostatic test and the morning pulse immediately after waking up will decrease.

Other signs of overtraining: poor sleep, lethargy and drowsiness during the day, decreased performance, sometimes sweating, exacerbation of a chronic disease, discomfort in the heart area, and an increase in blood pressure. In this case, it is also necessary to reduce the load by about 1.5-2 times and pay more attention to diet and relaxation.

4. Conclusion

Healthy running and walking have beneficial properties that are difficult to reproduce with any other types of physical activity. First of all, this is a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, especially at the level of the smallest vessels - arterioles, venules, capillaries. The lack of movement in a modern person leads to desolation and atrophy of a large number of capillaries and impaired blood supply to tissues. Properly dosed running and walking opens collapsed, non-functioning capillaries, and also promotes the germination of new capillaries in depleted areas and in areas damaged by the disease, which is especially important.

Regular training in health-improving running has a positive effect on all parts of the musculoskeletal system, preventing the development of degenerative changes associated with age and physical inactivity. Restriction of the inflow of joint fluid (lymph) during hypodynamia leads to malnutrition of cartilage and loss of elasticity of the ligaments, a decrease in the depreciation properties of the joints and the development of arthrosis. Cyclic exercises (running, cycling, swimming) increase the flow of lymph to the articular cartilage and intervertebral discs, which is the best prevention of arthrosis and sciatica. A positive effect of running on the function of the joints is possible only if adequate (not exceeding the capabilities of the motor apparatus) loads are used, and their gradual increase in the process of training.

The concentration of beta-endorphins and met-endorphins, mediators of pain and pleasure, increases. Researchers suggest that a similar reaction occurs with all cyclic exercises. Self-control during individual training. Starting independent physical exercises, everyone should outline for himself not only the most accessible means and training program, but also ...

Walking), - to moderate; continuous running (for well-trained runners at an intensity of 75-80% of the IPC) - to a fairly heavy physical load. Super-heavy loads (over 85 ° / o MPC) in health-improving training should not be used, as they quickly lead to fatigue and discoordination of respiratory and circulatory functions (with a possible overstrain of adaptive mechanisms). Character...

Health walking is a universal form of physical activity for those who love an active lifestyle. It can be practiced by persons of any age and gender, it can be especially recommended for the elderly, obese and those who have orthopedic disorders.

Walking is an excellent measure for the prevention of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Those who walk regularly are less likely to have strokes and heart attacks. For those who are wondering which is better: running or walking, you can answer that in the second case, the joints experience less stress, because the center of gravity is in the middle and the pressure on the knees, lower back, legs and ankles is significantly reduced. When walking, the leg does not have, as they say, the flight phase, which means that the concussion from impacts on the surface of the earth is much weaker.

Healthy walking is possible even with hypertension, and it is perhaps one of the few ways of physical activity recommended for obese people. Thanks to a slight intense load, they gradually get rid of extra pounds without compromising their health. Hiking in the fresh air increases immunity, has a positive effect on the psyche, increasing resistance.

Wellness Walking Technique

This sport is characterized by the following features:

• arms must be bent at the elbow joints and kept at a right angle, moving them back and forth along the body;
• keep fingers loose and clenched into fists;
• put the limb from heel to toe and observe the principle - left hand, right foot;
• do not strain the body, but pick up the stomach, do not bend strongly in the back, take the shoulders back and slightly relax.

In order for walking to have the status of "sports" and improve health, experts advise exercising three times a week for 30-40 minutes, moving at a speed of 6.5-8.5 km / h and maintaining a heart rate ranging from 120-140 beats per minute . There should be no shortness of breath, you need to breathe deeply and measuredly, inhaling air through the nose for three steps and exhaling through the mouth for the next three steps.

Wellness is no less popular, the technique of which is very similar to the technique of skiing. At the same time, the respiratory and cardiovascular systems are loaded more intensively, and about 90% of all muscles are involved in the work. With its help, you can add variety to the usual training scheme.

Walking is a great way to tone your body and improve your health. But after all, every person walks a certain distance with his feet every day? Only not everyone feels the benefits of this procedure. Why? Maybe something is wrong?

What kind of walking is good for you?

In fact, therapeutic walking and walking, for example, to work, are one and the same, with the exception of some nuances. To get the most out of walking, here are some proven tips.

Movement technique

So that your muscles do not get tired, follow the correct posture. Take your pelvis back, chest forward, straighten your shoulders. Sometimes it takes a long time to walk. Stooping in this case will quickly tire you, and unpleasant pain will appear in your back and shoulders. Such walking only gives stress.

Choose your stride length. Let your hands be free. Don't limit them. If you feel like moving your arms while walking, do it. No need to cross them on the chest or put them in pockets. Let your hands move with every step.

If you want to increase the fat-burning effect of your exercise, get sticks and get busy.

Breath

How to breathe properly while walking: inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. Get used to this rhythm, that's right.

Even those who have a stuffy nose at rest can often do without vasoconstrictor drops. Note that breathing becomes easier during exercise - magic, right?

To better ventilate the lungs, periodically inhale as much air as possible, and then take a full breath. You should not breathe like this all the time - you may feel dizzy. But once every 2-3 minutes - very handy. Just inhale slowly and deeply. If you pay attention to your breathing, then the benefits of walking will increase significantly.

Speed ​​and pulse

It is important to consider what the pulse should be when walking. Its value is affected by the speed of your steps and the features of the road (slope, surface, etc.).

It makes sense for healthy people to choose such a load when it will be a little hard to walk, but comfortable. That is, it should be difficult to conduct a long conversation while walking, but at the same time you should be able to say a couple of phrases.

You can monitor the pulse based on your feelings. If there is discomfort in the chest, you are walking too fast. And it is best to use a heart rate monitor. Make sure that your heart does not beat faster than 100 beats per minute. It's perfect for walking. Further acceleration of the heart is typical for running.

For a physically prepared person, cardio walking implies a fairly high pace.

People with heart disease should carefully monitor their heartbeat. Make sure you have a normal heart rate (80-90 beats per minute) while walking. This gives an additional guarantee that you will not harm yourself. Over time, when the cardiovascular system gets a little stronger, you can increase the pace of walking.

Depending on your fitness and health condition, the optimal speed for you will be different. The relationship here is direct - the better your preparation, the faster you should walk. The average walking speed is 4-7 km per hour. The benefits of fast walking are not only health-improving, but also in the training effect on the body.

And the healing effect is achieved due to the fact that the heart begins to beat a little more actively than at rest, and the lungs are deeply ventilated.

healthy thoughts

Mood and mood play a big role in any business. Let's just say, not even big, but decisive. If you do something without a mood, the result will be weak, perhaps even completely unsuccessful.

You should focus on how you feel while walking, realize that you are healing yourself, that your path is health walking, and not a journey from point A to B. Then your body will "tune in" to self-healing. Our thoughts determine our existence, no matter what the skeptics say. For some, let it be some kind of magic, but for others - complex physiological processes associated with hormonal regulation. Yes, with her. Thought adjusts the body to a certain mode of operation, this is partly the essence of psychotherapeutic auto-training.

If you're just going somewhere and you're not in a good mood, it's not a wellness event.

External conditions

If you go for a walk in cold or wet weather, you are more likely to catch a cold. There is nothing healthy here. Although, for the sake of justice, it is worth saying that for some such a walk can cause a hardening effect. Some. For the rest, everything will end with ARI. And if you also get your feet wet and freeze well, you risk, in general, getting sick in full.

Therefore, walking for health implies good and warm weather, comfortable conditions. If you live in the northern region, purchase a set of clothes that will reliably protect you from rain and cold wind.

Wellness walking instead of medicine is relevant when you are dressed appropriately. If in the warm season it was possible to walk naked, this would be the best attire. But in our world they will not understand you. Therefore, buy comfortable and high-quality things designed for an active lifestyle.

Clothing needs to wick moisture away, keep you warm in cold weather, and keep you cool in hot weather.

If you are traveling long distances, bring a backpack with a bottle of water. This will help avoid dehydration.

A very important factor in the external environment is the air, or rather, the degree of its purity. Walking near the paint factory is unlikely to do you any good. On the contrary, you may even feel itching in the nasopharynx and heaviness in the chest. This is not a benefit, but a clear harm. The same can be said about walking along the roadway. The best place is a park area or a forest area.

We all know that plants are photosynthetic. Give them enough sunlight and they will literally flood their environment with oxygen. It is only to our advantage. Any blade of grass, and especially a tree, produces oxygen during its entire green period.

Some remarks

1. Walking in the morning will be very productive. It will invigorate you before a working day and speed up your metabolism. Thus, you can eat more food and not worry about your figure.
2. Walking is good for weight loss. Long walks are a good opportunity to burn extra calories.
3. If you have flat feet, get orthopedic insoles. Without them, it is harmful to walk for a long time. If the joints are sore, try not to overload them.
4. Walking can bring not only benefits, but also harm. Yes, harm can be done by this safe mode of transportation if you constantly exhaust yourself.

The effect of walking on the body

Except in extreme cases, any walking is good for health. Does walking help develop the cardiovascular and respiratory system - yes, bring muscles into tone - yes, improve mood - also yes.

But walking instead of drugs, unfortunately, can not always be used. Let's just say that the walking method of transportation helps in the initial stages of many diseases and serves as their prevention. But when the disease has already manifested itself, this medicine is no longer so effective. In other words, prevention is always easier than cure.

To better understand how useful walking is, let's look at how it generally affects our body.

Mechanism of action of walking:

• The benefits of walking for the heart are known - it trains in a very loyal mode.
• Breathing while walking is slightly deeper than at rest. This means that our lungs are ventilated. Did you know that there is something called residual lung volume? At rest, part of the air is constantly in the lungs and does not leave them even during exhalation. Walking allows you to effectively renew almost the entire volume of the lung.
• The acceleration of the pulse allows the blood to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the cells and tissues of the body faster and more efficiently.
• Muscles tense while walking. This is not enough for them to grow, but it is enough for them not to be in good shape.
• The load on the articular system stimulates the renewal and regeneration of cartilage tissue.
• Walking is also beneficial for men and women because the movement of the legs improves blood circulation in the pelvis, helping to eliminate congestion.

The fourth week of our training has begun. It's time to get close to aerobic exercise. Let's talk about health walking today.
Most people do not attach importance to walking as a means of improving health. But in vain. Walking has the same health benefits as running.

Even Dr. Cooper found that the healing effect of slow running depends on increasing the body's ability to absorb oxygen. All similar cyclic exercises have a similar effect. And just walking is a cyclic exercise and it is aimed at increasing the functional capabilities of the body. Walking, running and other cyclic movements performed for at least 30 minutes lead to an increase in oxygen consumption and an increase in the aerobic capacity of the body. With regular use of walking in training, there is an increase in endurance and performance.
It is already a generally recognized fact that the basis of a health program for a person of middle and older age should be cyclic exercises.

I believe that 80 percent of my excellent (not afraid of this word) state of health belongs to running and walking. If I just ate right, I would have a thin, incapable body.
Walking, running, and bodyweight exercises produce a strong, toned, fat-free body.
I especially remember the case when I ran early in the summer in shorts and a T-shirt and the janitor shouted after me, “You are super! In great shape.” I took it at the expense of my muscles. Although he may just like my underpants).

I have asked a lot of runners in their 50s about what running has given them. The opinion is unanimous - health, optimism, endurance. Many have solved their health problems with walking and running.

But not everyone can afford to start running right away. But everyone can start with walking.) Let's make a reservation right away. To make sense, you need to walk in a wellness style. Those. quite quickly and a lot. Let's take a closer look.

How much should you walk?

How often to go?
Again, general advice. 3-4 times a week for 30-40 minutes at a good pace. You should not walk at all without rest at a healthy pace. You can rest two or three days a week.

How to walk fast?

A bit of theory. Loads in cyclic types are aerobic (oxygen), mixed and anaerobic (lack of oxygen).

Between the aerobic zone and the mixed zone lies the threshold of anaerobic metabolism. The so-called PANO. This is such a load when there is no longer enough oxygen and we begin to breathe through the mouth and pain in the muscles appears. In the elderly, it can cause coronary artery spasm and heart attack. This is not a horror story, but you just need to understand how our body works.

And do not experiment with a constant increase in loads. This is a common problem for newbies. As soon as the first successes have begun, they begin to load themselves and load all the time. This is absolutely not worth doing. We must continue to walk or run for pleasure.

We should only train in the aerobic zone. There is such a thing as a conversational pace. This is when you walk or run and you can talk freely. This is our aerobic pace.

Walking out of the aerobic zone is almost impossible. Therefore, it is considered a safe remedy and is recommended to everyone. But you need to know and understand the possible complications.

This is done by pulse. There is a simple formula for beginners.

180 - age in years = pulse in the zone of the beginning of ANEP

So for 40 years it will be 140 beats per minute. Exceeding this heart rate while running or walking is not recommended. More prepared people can calculate their threshold according to the formula 190 - age. This is due to the fact that with an increase in fitness, the ANOT zone moves towards a higher heart rate.
So before I could run one hill, this is almost the maximum heart rate, at 160 beats. Now I already notice that I am calmly running the same hill at 170. But this is my pulse close to the maximum. It can only run for very short distances. Like 100 meters.

It turns out that we must walk and run in the pulse range from 120 to 150 beats per minute, depending on age and fitness. It is not worth it below, because there is no healing effect. And above is also useless, because. We run the risk of overstraining the heart.
How to control the pulse?

You need a clock with a stopwatch. We stopped and quickly measured the pulse on the neck for 10 seconds. You can adapt and measure the pulse while walking on the go.
It's difficult when running.
Ideally, you can buy a heart rate monitor. But I think that it is quite possible to do without it. Very soon after the start of regular training, you can quite accurately determine your working pace. At this pace, you usually get real pleasure from walking or running. If you have to endure, then you are more likely to exceed your working heart rate and move into a mixed pulse zone. And as already noted, it becomes difficult to talk and breathing becomes intermittent.

To determine your correct pace, you need to train alone. Only in this way will you find the optimal pace for yourself. It is very difficult to find a fellow traveler with the same optimum speed.
One of the two is bound to be either underloaded or overloaded. Therefore, the general rule is: you need to walk and run alone, and only with an increase in fitness, do this in a group.
Ways of walking.
Walking walk. This is low intensity walking. This is how pensioners walk in parks. This is not our style. There is very little benefit. More emotional than healing.
Fast walk.
This is walking at a speed of 6-7 km per hour. In order to go this way, it is necessary to include the muscles of the lower leg, thigh and pelvis in the work. This increases energy consumption and stimulates blood circulation. The pulse increases and a complex of health effects sets in.
I suggest that you try to walk for an hour brisk walking and evaluate your feelings. I have no doubt that there will be fatigue and therefore benefit.
It is believed that at a walking speed of 6 km per hour, we spend 5.5 kcal per kg of weight per hour. While I'm not a fan of calorie counting anywhere, let's figure it out.
For an hour of such walking, a person of 70 kg of weight will spend 385 kcal. Not bad. The main thing then is not to eat too much food.

Let's start walking.

I think we can all start walking for at least 20 minutes. It should be continuous walking without stops. No matter how far you go, just go. Estimate your pulse after 10 minutes from the start of walking and adjust the pace. Gradually, over several weeks, increase the time to 30-40 minutes without changing the pace. You will already begin to enjoy the distances that you pass.

I remember walking in the evenings. I put the car in the parking lot and did not go straight home, but laid a big circle around the city.
Never liked walking. But, that's because it was difficult. With the start of training, everything changed. Surprisingly, I became interested. I saw a lot of things that I did not see in ordinary life. I wandered into such corners of the city where I had never been in 40 years of living in Kaluga.
I felt myself walking faster. Then he specifically planned new routes. Walking has become an exciting and interesting activity. The healing effect of it was also very noticeable. I started walking because I twisted my leg while running and it was difficult to run. Foot hurt. So walking made it possible to rehabilitate the foot and not lose the form acquired during running.

Recently I talked with Anatoly Romanov. He is the World Veteran Marathon Champion. He said that at the age of 55, his knees began to hurt. He couldn't even run.
And got a job in Moscow as a courier. I worked every other day and walked 10 km. As a result, the knees went unnoticed.

We continue our training by walking. Gradually increase the distance and pace. Now it is useful to measure the circle that you are passing and note the time. The circle can be measured using Yandex maps, using a bicycle speedometer.
By the way, measurement on Yandex maps gives not bad accuracy. Checked multiple times. It is necessary to draw your path on the Yandex map and the length of the path in km will be shown there.

In addition, now almost every smartphone has GPS and you can put a tracker that will show both speed and distance and also record the statistics of your workouts.
If a person can move, he must walk. The list of contraindications is very small: heart disease, thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities, severe circulatory failure.
Probably, there are still some diseases when you can’t walk. Let's not talk about sad things.

And in conclusion, a list of diseases in which walking can help.
What exactly is cured by walking? Short list for motivation. Neurosthenia, arrhythmia, hypertension, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, varicose veins, obesity, diabetes.
I think that's enough.

What to walk?
A big plus of walking is that you do not need special clothes. Just light clothing so you don't sweat. It is better to dress in layers and not very warm. Depending on the weather. You need to be able to take something off if it gets hot and you start to sweat a lot.

You can go to work straight from work. But, I advise you to do this in special shoes.
These should be either good sneakers or trekking boots with comfortable, non-slippery soles and high lacing. I walked in both sneakers and boots.

Walking in trekking boots is especially pleasant. Their feet go by themselves. Especially if your path passes through forest paths or a park. By the way, you should go there if possible. Walking on city sidewalks, only as a last resort and when there is not enough time. And on the weekend, be sure to plan walking in beautiful places in nature.

Do not regret the time spent walking. All this will pay off with good health and performance.

That's probably all I wanted to talk about walking. We include it in our training plan. Especially if you are overweight and it is hard for you to run. First, strengthen your muscles and ligaments by walking, reduce weight, and then you can start running. We will talk about how to start running next time.