Why is walking so good for you? Here's what studies show.

[Social Media]

 

It can be a bit daunting trying to get in the recommended amount of exercise each week, which for adults is at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Everyone should do daily activity and exercise for at least 30 to 40 continuous minutes” to improve both physical and mental health, Dr. Jay Lee, an internal medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente, tells Yahoo Life.

But something as simple as walking can help you reach those exercise goals. “Walking can be one of the best ways to achieve this daily exercise,” says Lee. It doesn’t require any special equipment, can be done indoors or outdoors, and can be performed alone or in a group. It’s also easy to change the intensity of your exercise simply by changing where or how fast you walk. Unlike other forms of exercise, it’s possible to combine walking with other activities, such as running errands or participating in a work meeting by phone.

Although most people have heard that they should walk 10,000 steps a day, many experts don’t think it’s necessary to walk that much. Dr. Ann Hester, internist and author of Patient Empowerment 101, tells Yahoo Life that “aiming for at least 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day” can help meet the WHO’s guidelines for physical activity. However, other studies show that some health benefits start to accrue with as few as 4,000 steps or 10 minutes of walking.

What do studies say about walking’s impact on health?

• It may reduce the risk of dementia. A study published in JAMA Neurology found that taking 9,800 steps may be “optimal” to lower the risk of developing dementia. However, the study found that taking as few as 3,800 steps per day may lower the risk of dementia by 25%.

• Walking may help you live longer. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that older women taking about 4,400 steps per day had a 41% lower risk of dying. Another study, this one published in JAMA Network Open, found that taking 7,000 steps a day was linked to a 50% to 70% lower risk of mortality. Yet another study, this one published in Nature, found that walking briskly for as little as 10 minutes a day may lower your biological age by 16 years and help you live up to 20 years longer.

 

FULL ARTICLE

 

[KhunLA]

I get my 2 daily walks in with the dog every day.  Not exactly speed walking or long distance, but a least I get everything moving, instead of being sedentary all day.

[Elkski]

I prefer the doggy exercise 

[Social Media]

35 minutes ago, Elkski said:

I prefer the doggy exercise 

Many females like that too I hear...????

[grain]

76yo and I do 6km walk daily, start at 6am and back home by 8am, I can feel my leg joints stiffening a bit in the past year but I'll keep it up for as long as I'm able. ????

[still kicking]

[Dmaxdan]

I walk an average of 15,000 steps everyday plus two 20 minute sessions on my exercise bike.

It really makes those relaxing, lazy moments all the more special.

 

[billd766]

2 hours ago, grain said:

76yo and I do 6km walk daily, start at 6am and back home by 8am, I can feel my leg joints stiffening a bit in the past year but I'll keep it up for as long as I'm able. ????

I am 79 and I have recently started exercising. I can manage about 1 1/2 hours a day.

 

Unfortunately I have S2S kneecaps, though I can now manage to walk about 75 metres at a time without my walking stick or my zimmer frame. Any further and I use either of them.

 

I am using the UK NHS exercises for the elderly. i do 3 sessions a day of about 30 to 40 minutes a time. My body tells me if I am pushing too hard.

 

The link is down at this time but if anybody is interested I have downloaded the exercises.

[mfd101]

Age 74. Life is full of good intentions.

 

I do 80 legs-in-the-air cycling before hopping out of bed in the morning. I then do 5 minutes of stretching for neck, shoulders & trunk.

 

I also have a small gym beside the carport. My intention is to visit there 5 times a week for 5 minutes of weights, 30 sit-ups and 30 minutes fast walking on the walking machine thingy. BUT my (carefully-maintained) record shows that my weekly average over the last 3 years is 2.13 times a week.

 

We do live in a large mansion however and I race up & down the stairs 2 at a time about 20 times a day ...

 

Always room for improvement.

[shackleton]

I am out most days 1605 hrs go to the walking area in the stadium 

I complete 3 circuits daily about 12 minutes a circuit at a good pace 

Plus good to meet the regulars there as well  

[carlyai]

15 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I am 79 and I have recently started exercising. I can manage about 1 1/2 hours a day.

 

Unfortunately I have S2S kneecaps, though I can now manage to walk about 75 metres at a time without my walking stick or my zimmer frame. Any further and I use either of them.

 

I am using the UK NHS exercises for the elderly. i do 3 sessions a day of about 30 to 40 minutes a time. My body tells me if I am pushing too hard.

 

The link is down at this time but if anybody is interested I have downloaded the exercises.

If you buy some 'one way' walking sticks, you can walk a lot further distance.

Carbon fibre, adjustable with wrist straps to take some of the strain.

Called Nordic walking poles and they have a Web site and, if you are interested you can join Nordic walking groups all round the world.

Reported that you burn 2x Calories using walking poles. Gives you a whole body work out as arms as well as legs used.

Nordic have developed a special walking style. Takes a bit to master.

I'm 78 and been using them for years as have lumbar nerve damage and knee replacements.

Have a go.:)

Buy me a beer when you see me.

[Old Nomad]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

... my zimmer frame. Any further and I use either of them....

 

 

In Germany many use walkers like these
https://mot-shop.com/products/nowego-carbon-rollator-sonderedition
https://www.amazon.de/s?k=rollator&__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=1AQ8K6NOXTTN8&sprefix=rollator+%2Caps%2C152&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Besides giving support while walking, one can sit on them to take a pause anytime.

 

[Purdey]

It is really good that people are sharing their exercise regimes. 

[billd766]

1 hour ago, carlyai said:

If you buy some 'one way' walking sticks, you can walk a lot further distance.

Carbon fibre, adjustable with wrist straps to take some of the strain.

Called Nordic walking poles and they have a Web site and, if you are interested you can join Nordic walking groups all round the world.

Reported that you burn 2x Calories using walking poles. Gives you a whole body work out as arms as well as legs used.

Nordic have developed a special walking style. Takes a bit to master.

I'm 78 and been using them for years as have lumbar nerve damage and knee replacements.

Have a go.:)

Buy me a beer when you see me.

Walking has been tricky for years as I also have osteoarthritis in both knees and a buggered back.

 

Thank you for the offer of a beer though.  

[KhunLA]

18 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Walking has been tricky for years as I also have osteoarthritis in both knees and a buggered back.

 

Thank you for the offer of a beer though.  

Pedal bike, 0 impact, or stationary if concerned about having an oops.

 

Also these type seem to be the ticket for many:

[Iamloki]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

Unfortunately I have S2S kneecaps

Please excuse my ignorance. I Googled S2S kneecaps, and as seems to happen more and more with Google... got no useful returns... So, can someone kindly clue me in on S2S kneecaps?

[Zenwind]

It’s great to read the experiences of fellow old-folks about your walking routines.  Keep it up, and keep inspiring the rest of us.  I am 73 and have been benefiting immensely from my own walking program. 

 

I walk a bit every day, but my current program is to take longer marches of 6 to 7 kilometers at least twice a week.  On these marches, I do stair-climbing by climbing the pedestrian “flyover” bridges that cross my street.  On my regular walking path, there are 5 older flyover bridges, plus 4 more on the two newer MRT elevated rail stations (one on the north and the south platforms of each station).  That’s 35 steps up each of the old ones and 50 steps up the MRT stairways.  On a round-trip walk, I zig-zag down the street and back up, crossing at every flyover, with a possible total of 14 stair-climbs in my 90-minute march.  (Important:  hydrate constantly!) 

 

I hope to start incorporating hand-weights into my walking routines – which can be an amazing intensification of a workout.  Decades ago, when living in America, I had a complete set of Heavy Hands™, a set of light hand-weights that can be adjusted from one pound in each hand up to much heavier combinations by one-pound increments.  In those days, I would hike with these weights through forests and backroads, up hill and down, and the added aerobic and body-wide muscle-building effects were incredible, building strength right down to your toes.  To keep the aerobic exercise going on the downhills and on the flats, I would pump my arms and swing them with vigor.  At present, I have a pair each of one-kilo and two-kilo dumbbells, and I plan to initially start using them while climbing the stairways in my home, a total of 30 steps – up and down, up and down, etc. 

 

I have suffered for decades from fibromyalgia, which involves chronic pain and debilitating fatigue, making it an extreme effort to get up and move.  My upper back has been vulnerable to injury so I must use lighter weights.  In the last few years, I have also seriously injured my lumber spine, causing intense sciatica pain – causing me to limp only short distances with a cane over a year ago – so I have to carefully limber up and stretch before exercising. 

 

I have had a remarkable breakthrough in the last year – and my remedy may be controversial to some.  Now that it is legal, before my longer marches I Micro-Dose a mere two tokes of Cannabis sativa, then I limber up with ultra-inspired Tai Chi, do some mindfully thorough range-of-motion calisthenics, then stretch my leg muscles very carefully.  Then I do my long flyover climbing trek down and back up the street.  My overall health has improved extraordinarily.  (It’s not for everyone, but if anyone is further interested in this experience of mine, check out some of my posts on my Profile here, e.g., Health Benefits of High-THC Cannabis, and other posts.) 

 

Keep walking everyone!  It is not only healthy, it’s great fun. 

[bradiston]

I've decided exercise is extremely bad for me. I'm quite happy sitting around doing nothing most of the time. I go to the sauna every day, sweat like crazy, cold pool, hot pool, float in the swimming pool. I'm surrounded by gyms, and consequently he man heaven. But why do they do it? Load up on carbs, load up on weights, the never ending story! No or very lo carb diet will keep your weight in check without all that. The fitness industry. It'll kill you!

Edited September 8, 2023 by bradiston

[novacova]

I walk every day, mostly in the hills. I like walking up the steepest piece of ground I can find. Swimming is great as well, rain or shine.

[novacova]

54 minutes ago, Zenwind said:

Health Benefits of High-THC Cannabis,

I prefer the health benefits of a clear head and an unpolluted body of any mind/body altering substances with the exception of a good kick@ss cup of coffee in the morning 

[novacova]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Pedal bike, 0 impact, or stationary if concerned about having an oops.

 

Also these type seem to be the ticket for many:

+1…or an elliptical machine if you want to go for a go-nowhere-run 

[Muhendis]

A few years ago just before Covid, I had sciatica. This is a compression of the sciatic nerve as it passes out of the spinal column between L4 and L5 of the lumbar region. The pain of this is very debilitating all down my right leg.

There are two fixes for this. one involving a surgical procedure and the other, the simple exercise of walking or better still riding a bike. Walking for me was really too painful but riding my bike around the village for 6kM early every morning did the trick. It's not a quick fix by any means but it's free and healthy. The fix took about 6 months and many other bits of me started working much better.

My doctor suggested I should use an exercise bike but quite honestly I find such things boring and less than adequate. Much more fun to ride around the village avoiding chickens, dogs, kids and angry old women.

[billd766]

3 hours ago, Iamloki said:

Please excuse my ignorance. I Googled S2S kneecaps, and as seems to happen more and more with Google... got no useful returns... So, can someone kindly clue me in on S2S kneecaps?

I can but it is not too polite.

 

 

STS is shot to <deleted>.

 

Both of my kneecaps have the cartilages' worn away and it is mainly bone on bone rubbing together away.

 

https://profadrianwilson.co.uk/knee-treatments/knee-anatomy/ 

 

courtesy of Professor Adrian Wilson via Dr Internet.

 

This is basically what a good knee looks like.

 

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21750-osteoarthritis-knee

 

This is what osteoarthritis of the knee looks like and an explanation of it from the Cleveland Clinic  via Dr Internet.

[billd766]

1 hour ago, bradiston said:

I've decided exercise is extremely bad for me. I'm quite happy sitting around doing nothing most of the time. I go to the sauna every day, sweat like crazy, cold pool, hot pool, float in the swimming pool. I'm surrounded by gyms, and consequently he man heaven. But why do they do it? Load up on carbs, load up on weights, the never ending story! No or very lo carb diet will keep your weight in check without all that. The fitness industry. It'll kill you!

I do my exercises at home.

[n00dle]

2 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I do my exercises at home.

seriously. what does that have to do with the post you replied to?

 

Did you arbitrarily pick a post to share that gem under, or do you thnk that remark has some relevance the rest of us cant see? 

[billd766]

1 hour ago, novacova said:

+1…or an elliptical machine if you want to go for a go-nowhere-run 

Thank you for reminding that I have an elliptical machine outside that I haven't used in years.

 

I will have to root it out, give it a good wash and brush up and chuck some new batteries in it and see if it still works.

 

It is good for people with bad knees as you work it without running and hammering your knees. IIRC I can exercise and count the time or the distance.

[billd766]

6 minutes ago, n00dle said:

seriously. what does that have to do with the post you replied to?

 

Did you arbitrarily pick a post to share that gem under, or do you thnk that remark has some relevance the rest of us cant see? 

Well AFAIR my nearest gym is about 65 km away and that would mean asking my wife to drive me an hour each way and hang around waiting for me.

 

Of course you could have asked me why and I would have told you.

 

Not everybody in Thailand lives close to a gym, nor could I make full use of a gym.

 

Is that a good enough explanation for you, or would you like to know all of my ailments, which precludes my using a gym as well?

[n00dle]

4 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Not everybody in Thailand lives close to a gym, nor could I make full use of a gym.

Oh and i was supposed to magically understand al that context. yeh ok aright. 

[billd766]

5 hours ago, Old Nomad said:

In Germany many use walkers like these
https://mot-shop.com/products/nowego-carbon-rollator-sonderedition
https://www.amazon.de/s?k=rollator&__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=1AQ8K6NOXTTN8&sprefix=rollator+%2Caps%2C152&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Besides giving support while walking, one can sit on them to take a pause anytime.

 

It looks like a good machine but can I climb stairs with one?

 

My zimmer frame has no wheels so when I go to somewhere that has stairs I can climb with it. It also has a seat and is claimed to support 200 kg thou I am only 107.5 kg now.

 

Also it is height adjustable (as is my walking stick) so my wife can use it when I die.

[billd766]

5 minutes ago, n00dle said:

Oh and i was supposed to magically understand al that context. yeh ok aright. 

OTOH you could simply have asked.

 

I thought that you were smart enough to do that.

 

Nobody else seems to have responded the way that you did which means that they understood or weren't bothered.